[Action of phosphorus-containing aminocarboxylic acids on neuromuscular transmission in the blowfly]

The action of a series of phosphonic amino acids--glutamate receptor antagonists--on neuromuscular transmission in blowfly larva was studied under voltage clamp conditions. It was shown that 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid decreases synaptic current in a dose-dependent manner, and 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid increases its acting presynaptically. The analysis done shows that sensitivity of blowfly glutamate receptors to phosphonic amino acids differs from that in crustacean and mammalian glutamate receptors.