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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Aug 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Neurochem. 2009 Jun 22;110(4):1363–1376. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2009.06229.x

Figure 2. Subcellular localization of GIRK subunits in Purkinje cells.

Figure 2

Electron micrographs show immunolabelling for GIRK1, GIRK2 and GIRK3 in the molecular layer of the cerebellum of WT mice. (A–B) Few immunoparticles for GIRK1 were detected along the extrasynaptic plasma membrane of PC spines (s) (arrows) and dendritic shafts (Den) (crossed arrows), as well as at presynaptic sites in parallel fibre terminals (pf) (arrowheads). (D–E) Few immunoparticles for GIRK2 were detected along the extrasynaptic plasma membrane of PC spines (s) (arrows) but not in dendritic shafts (Den), as well as at presynaptic sites in parallel fibre terminals (pf) (arrowheads). (G–H) A large density of immunoparticles for GIRK3 was detected along the extrasynaptic plasma membrane of PC spines (s) (arrows) and dendritic shafts (Den) (crossed arrows), as well as at presynaptic sites in parallel fibre terminals (pf) (arrowheads). (C,F,J) Immunoreactivity for GIRK1, GIRK2 and GIRK3 was totally absent in the corresponding GIRK KO mice. (K,L,M) Distribution of immunoreactive GIRK1, GIRK2 and GIRK3 in relation to glutamate release sites in PC dendritic spines, as assessed from immunogold reactions. Immunoparticles were recorded in 60-nm-wide bins along the extrasynaptic plasma membrane of PC spines. Data are expressed as the proportion of immunoparticles at a given distance from the edge of the synaptic specialization. The measurements show that the three GIRK subunits are distributed in virtually the same way along the extrasynaptic plasma membrane of PC spines. Scale bars, 0.2 µm.