Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Glutamate receptor ion channels.

Mark L Mayer1

  • 1Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, Building 35 Room 3B 1002 MSC 3712, 35 Lincoln Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-3712, USA. mayerm@mail.nih.gov

Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|May 28, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The gating properties of Drosophila NMJ glutamate receptors and their dependence on Neto.

The Journal of physiology·2024
Same author

Expression and Functional Analysis of Ctenophore Glutamate Receptor Genes.

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)·2024
Same author

Jeffrey Watkins (1929-2023).

Neuron·2023
Same author

Partial agonists go molecular.

Trends in pharmacological sciences·2021
Same author

Structural biology of kainate receptors.

Neuropharmacology·2021
Same author

Glutamate receptors from diverse animal species exhibit unexpected structural and functional diversity.

The Journal of physiology·2020

Glutamate receptor ion channels, crucial for brain signaling, are understood through high-resolution structures. These studies explain receptor selectivity, modulation, and distinct gating mechanisms compared to voltage-gated channels.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Structural Biology

Background:

  • Glutamate receptor ion channels are central to excitatory neurotransmission in the central nervous system (CNS).
  • They represent the only class of ligand-gated ion channels with solved high-resolution crystal structures.
  • Understanding their mechanisms is key to deciphering synaptic function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the mechanistic basis of phenomena related to glutamate receptor function using structural data.
  • To explain subtype-specific agonist selectivity and partial agonist activity.
  • To investigate allosteric modulation and the role of auxiliary subunits.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of high-resolution crystal structures of glutamate receptor ligand-binding domains.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Integration of low-resolution electron microscopy data.
  • Functional studies comparing glutamate receptors with voltage-gated ion channels.

    • Main Results:

    • Structural studies provide mechanistic explanations for agonist selectivity, desensitization, and partial agonism.
    • Evidence suggests AMPA receptors associate with auxiliary subunits regulating their activity and trafficking.
    • Glutamate receptor gating mechanisms differ from those of related voltage-gated ion channels.

    Conclusions:

    • High-resolution structural insights have significantly advanced the mechanistic understanding of glutamate receptors.
    • Auxiliary subunits play a critical role in modulating native receptor function.
    • Distinct gating mechanisms highlight the unique nature of glutamate receptor ion channels.