Hippocampal kainate receptors

Glutamate is the major fast excitatory amino acid transmitter in the CNS, and exerts its action through receptors that function as ion channels such as NMDA receptors (NMDARs), AMPA receptors (AMPARs), and kainate receptors (KARs), and also through signaling cascades via metabotropic receptors. Of the ionotropic receptors, NMDARs and AMPARs have been extensively studied for decades, while relatively fewer studies have focused on the role of the KARs in the glutamatergic synapse. Despite this, there is considerable experimental data that suggest a major role for KARs in modulating synaptic transmission and plasticity, particularly in the hippocampal formation, as well as an involvement in disease states. KARs mediate most aspects of kainate-induced seizures and excitotoxic cell death, and thus, are a rational drug target for antiepileptic drug discovery. Recent data from human studies have also highlighted a role for KARs in certain psychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia and major depression, and a recent association of KAR gene variants with response to antidepressants has brought considerable interest in developing a clearer understanding of KAR action in the brain. We have recently found that exposure to stress and stress hormone administration can produce contrasting changes in KAR subunit expression in the rat hippocampus, suggesting that a modification of hippocampal KARs by stress may be a mechanism for predisposing individuals to stress-related psychiatric diseases. Here, we review the anatomical and functional characteristics of hippocampal KARs, their role in synaptic plasticity, their regulation by certain hormones, and briefly review what is known about their involvement in disease states such as epilepsy and depression.