Progress on the isolation and purification methods of GABA receptor

As an important inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor in the insects, gamma- aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor acts as a concerned target for many insecticides.The structure of GABA receptor is closely related to the insecticide resistance and toxicology.Therefore,isolation/purification of the GABA receptor of insect and further study on the spatial structure will shed light on the development of high-efficient,low toxic and safe insecticide as well as overcoming the pesticide resistance.Various isolation/purification methods have been established according to the molecular weight,charge and specific affinity of GABA receptor.The methods of GABA receptor isolation/purification including precipitation,density gradient centrifugation,ion exchange chromatography,hydroxyapatite chromatography,gel filtration,and affinity chromatography, etc,were reviewed.The advantages and disadvantages of these methods were discussed,and the influence of the detergents on the extraction efficiency of GABA receptor were summarized.