This gene encodes a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor. GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain where it acts at GABA-A receptors, which are ligand-gated chloride channels. Chloride conductance of these channels can be modulated by agents such as benzodiazepines that bind to the GABA-A receptor. GABA-A receptors are pentameric, consisting of proteins from several subunit classes: alpha, beta, gamma, delta and rho. Mutations in this gene cause juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and childhood absence epilepsy type 4. Multiple transcript variants encoding the same protein have been identified for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Forensic Context
A study in humans demonstrated that the GABRA1 is expressed in brain tissue, with an average read count of 14,584, and is used as a specific mRNA marker for brain tissue identification within a targeted massively parallel sequencing (MPS) assay [Hanson & Ballantyne DOI:10.3390/genes8110319]. A review further confirms that the GABRA1 is a marker used in targeted MPS assays for the forensic identification of brain tissue [Haas et al. DOI:10.1016/j.fsigen.2021.102486].