Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 3, 2026

A High-throughput Calcium-flux Assay to Study NMDA-receptors with Sensitivity to Glycine/D-serine and Glutamate

A High-throughput Calcium-flux Assay to Study NMDA-receptors with Sensitivity to Glycine/D-serine and Glutamate

Published on: July 10, 2018

The Developmental Shift of NMDA Receptor Composition Proceeds Independently of GluN2 Subunit-Specific GluN2

Sean McKay¹, Tomás J Ryan², Jamie McQueen¹

¹Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK; Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK; UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Chancellor's Building, Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh EH16 4SB, UK.

|October 26, 2018

Abstract:

The GluN2 subtype (2A versus 2B) determines biophysical properties and signaling of forebrain NMDA receptors (NMDARs). During development, GluN2A becomes incorporated into previously GluN2B-dominated NMDARs. This "switch" is proposed to be driven by distinct features of GluN2 cytoplasmic C-terminal domains (CTDs), including a unique CaMKII interaction site in GluN2B that drives removal from the synapse. However, these models remain untested in the context of endogenous NMDARs. We show that, although mutating the endogenous GluN2B CaMKII site has secondary effects on GluN2B CTD phosphorylation, the developmental changes in NMDAR composition occur normally and measures of plasticity and synaptogenesis are unaffected. Moreover, the switch proceeds normally in mice that have the GluN2A CTD replaced by that of GluN2B and commences without an observable decline in GluN2B levels but is impaired by GluN2A haploinsufficiency. Thus, GluN2A expression levels, and not GluN2 subtype-specific CTD-driven events, are the overriding factor in the developmental switch in NMDAR composition.

Keywords:

NMDA receptor neurodevelopment synaptic plasticity synaptogenesis

More Related Videos

A Simple Cell-based Immunofluorescence Assay to Detect Autoantibody Against the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate NMDA Receptor in Blood

A Simple Cell-based Immunofluorescence Assay to Detect Autoantibody Against the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate NMDA Receptor in Blood

Published on: January 9, 2018

Application of a NMDA Receptor Conductance in Rat Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons Using the Dynamic Clamp Technique

Application of a NMDA Receptor Conductance in Rat Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons Using the Dynamic Clamp Technique

Published on: December 21, 2010

Related Concept Videos

Termination of Translation

Termination of Translation

The large ribosomal subunit has several important structures essential to translation. These include the peptidyl transferase center (PTC) - which is the site where the peptide bond is formed - and a large, internal, water-filled tube through which the nascent polypeptide moves. This latter structure is called the Peptide Exit Tunnel, and it begins at the PTC and spans the body of the large ribosomal subunit. During translation, as the nascent polypeptide chain is synthesized, it passes through...

Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists

Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists

Cognitive enhancers, also known as "smart drugs," are substances used to enhance memory, mental alertness, and concentration. These can be natural or synthetic and improve cognition in conditions like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Some common examples include caffeine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, modafinil, arecoline, donepezil, vortioxetine, and piracetam. These enhancers work on the principle of synaptic plasticity and altered circuit function.

G-protein Coupled Receptors

G-protein Coupled Receptors

G-protein coupled receptors are ligand binding receptors that indirectly affect changes in the cell. The actual receptor is a single polypeptide that transverses the cell membrane seven times creating intracellular and extracellular loops. The extracellular loops create a ligand specific pocket which binds to neurotransmitters or hormones. The intracellular loops holds onto the G-protein.

Signal Sequences and Sorting Receptors

Signal Sequences and Sorting Receptors

Signal sequences are short amino acid sequences that guide newly synthesized proteins to their proper location within the cell. Classical signal sequences are fifteen to sixty amino acids long and present at the N-terminus of a polypeptide chain. Each signal sequence has a conserved segment of basic residues towards their N terminus, a hydrophobic core, and a C-terminus rich in polar residues. The C-terminus also contains a signal cleavage site and features a -3 -1 sequence motif. The -3-1...

Receptor-mediated Endocytosis

Receptor-mediated Endocytosis

Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation

Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation

Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...

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

GABAergic neurons exhibit subtype-specific changes in the developing somatosensory cortex of a rat model of Fragile X Syndrome.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026

Nociceptive innervation limits tertiary lymphoid structures to promote lung cancer.

Cell·2026

Women and psychosis: a guide to evidence-based, hormone-informed care.

The lancet. Psychiatry·2026

Gene Portals: A Framework for Integrating Clinical, Functional, and Structural Evidence into Rare Disease Variant Classification.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2026

Research priorities for mental health and circadian science: a priority setting partnership of individuals with lived experience, carers, clinicians and researchers.

BMJ mental health·2026

Maternal ethnicity, severe perinatal mental illness and involuntary admission: mother and baby unit service evaluation.

BJPsych bulletin·2025

See all related articles