Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026

A High-throughput Calcium-flux Assay to Study NMDA-receptors with Sensitivity to Glycine/D-serine and Glutamate
Published on: July 10, 2018
NMDA Receptors Containing GluN2B/2C/2D Subunits Mediate an Increase in Glutamate Release at Hippocampal CA3-CA1
J Prius-Mengual1, M Pérez-Rodríguez1, Y Andrade-Talavera1
1Laboratory of Cellular Neuroscience and Plasticity, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, ES-41013, Seville, Spain.
Abstract:
NMDA receptors (NMDARs) are involved in synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity in different brain regions, and they modulate glutamate release at different presynaptic sites. Here, we studied whether non-postsynaptic NMDARs, putatively presynaptic (preNMDARs), are tonically active at hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses, and if they modulate glutamate release. We found that when postsynaptic NMDARs are blocked by MK801, D-AP5 depresses evoked and spontaneous excitatory synaptic transmission, indicating that preNMDARs are tonically active at CA3-CA1 synapses, facilitating glutamate release. The subunit composition of these NMDARs was determined by studying evoked and spontaneous excitatory synaptic transmission in the presence of Zn2+, Ro 25-6981, and PPDA, antagonists of NMDARs containing GluN2A, GluN2B, and GluN2C/D, respectively. We found that evoked and spontaneous release decreased when the activity of NMDARs containing GluN2B and GluN2C/D subunits but not GluN2A was impeded. In addition, we found that the increase in glutamate release mediated by these NMDARs requires protein kinase A (PKA) activation. We conclude that preNMDARs that contain GluN2B and GluN2C/2D subunits facilitate glutamate release at hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses through a mechanism that involves PKA.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Receptor-mediated Endocytosis
Receptor-mediated Endocytosis
Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis of LDL
One well-characterized example of receptor-mediated endocytosis is the...
The Synapse
Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists
G-protein Coupled Receptors
Internal Receptors

