Figure 3.

Sildenafil reduces GABAergic tone in cerebellum of PCS rats. Microdialysis guide was implanted in cerebellum as described in methods, in the position indicated in (A) and extracellular GABA concentration was measured by microdialysis in freely moving rats (B). Values are the mean±SEM of 14 sham and PCS rats and eight sham and PCS rats treated with sildenafil. Membrane expression of the alpha 5 subunit of GABA_A receptor (C) and of the GABA transporters GAT3 (D) and GAT1 (E) was analyzed using the BS3 cross‐linker procedure as described in methods. Samples, incubated in the absence or presence of BS3, were subjected to Western blotting using the corresponding antibodies. Samples in the absence of BS3 represent the total amount of each protein. Samples in the presence of BS3 represent the nonmembrane fraction. The intensities of the bands were quantified, and membrane expression was calculated as the difference of intensity between samples without and with BS3. Values are expressed as percentage of control rats and are the mean±SEM of five rats per group in (C) and 9‐13 rats per group in (D) and (E). Values significantly different from control rats are indicated by asterisks and from PCS rats by a. *P<.05;***P<.001; ^a P<.05