Dr Stephen Kelley

BA, MSc, and PhD

Lecturer in Pharmacology

Phone:+44 (0)1634 20 2957
Email: s.p.kelley@kent.ac.uk

Specialist areas
  • Neuropharmacology
  • Neurophysiology
  • Receptor pharmacology

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My primary area of interest concerns the Cys-loop family of ligand-gated ion channels, which includes the 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT3) receptor, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, the strychnine-sensitive glycine receptor, and the γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA-A) receptor.

Most recently, my research has focused on the interaction between ethanol and GABA-A receptors. Alcohol-related deaths in the United Kingdom have more than doubled from 4,144 in 1991 to 8,386 in 2005. The GABA-A receptor, a ligand-gated ion channel and the principal mediator of fast synaptic inhibition in the brain, is known to be modulated by alcohol. In my laboratory I utilise patch-clamp electrophysiological techniques to investigate the pharmacological effects of both acute and chronic ethanol (alcohol) upon human recombinant GABA-A receptors expressed in cell lines. This work is in collaboration with Professor A. Leslie Morrow, Bowles Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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  • Kelley SP, Alan JK, O'Buckley TK, Mennerick S, Krishnan K, Covey DF, Leslie Morrow A. (2007) Antagonism of neurosteroid modulation of native γ-aminobutyric acid receptors by (3α,5α)-17-phenylandrost-16-en-3-ol. Eur J Pharmacol. In press.
  • Hodge CW, Bratt AM, Kelley SP. (2007) Genes, Brain and Behavior In press
  • Wilkie MB, Besheer J, Kelley SP, Kumar S, O'Buckley TK, Morrow AL, Hodge CW. (2007) Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 31(7):1259-67.
  • Hales TG, Dunlop JI, Deeb TZ, Carland JE, Kelley SP, Lambert JJ, Peters JA. (2006) Common determinants of single channel conductance within the large cytoplasmic loop of 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 and alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. J Biol Chem. 281(12): 8062-71.
  • Hodge CW, Kelley SP, Bratt AM, Iller K, Schroeder JP, Besheer J. (2004) 5-HT3A receptor subunit is required for 5-HT3 antagonist-induced reductions in alcohol drinking. Neuropsychopharmacology. 29(10):1807-13.
  • Peters JA, Kelley SP, Dunlop JI, Kirkness EF, Hales TG, Lambert JJ. (2004) The 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT3) receptor reveals a novel determinant of single-channel conductance. Biochem Soc Trans. 32(3):547-52.
  • Kelley SP, Dunlop JI, Kirkness EF, Lambert JJ, Peters JA. (2003) A cytoplasmic region determines single-channel conductance in 5-HT3 receptors. Nature. 424(6946):321-4.

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