Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 1, 2026

A High-throughput Calcium-flux Assay to Study NMDA-receptors with Sensitivity to Glycine/D-serine and Glutamate
Published on: July 10, 2018
Changes in Serine Racemase-Dependent Modulation of NMDA Receptor: Impact on Physiological and Pathological Brain
1UNICAEN, INSERM, COMETE, Normandie University, Caen, France.
Abstract:
The N-methyl-D-Aspartate glutamate receptors (NMDARs) are pivotal for the functional and morphological plasticity that are required in neuronal networks for efficient brain activities and notably for cognitive-related abilities. Because NMDARs are heterogeneous in subunit composition and associated with multiple functional regulatory sites, their efficacy is under the tonic influence of numerous allosteric modulations, whose dysfunction generally represents the first step generating pathological states. Among the enzymatic candidates, serine racemase (SR) has recently gathered an increasing interest considering that it tightly regulates the production of d-serine, an amino acid now viewed as the main endogenous co-agonist necessary for NMDAR activation. Nowadays, SR deregulation is associated with a wide range of neurological and psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and depression. This review aims at compelling the most recent experimental evidences indicating that changes in SR-related modulation of NMDARs also govern opposite functional dysfunctions in physiological and pathological (Alzheimer's disease) aging that finally results in memory disabilities in both cases. It also highlights SR as a relevant alternative target for new pharmacological strategies aimed at preventing functional alterations and cognitive impairments linked to the aging process.
More Related Videos
07:20A Simple Cell-based Immunofluorescence Assay to Detect Autoantibody Against the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate NMDA Receptor in Blood
Published on: January 9, 2018
14:57Preparation of Acute Hippocampal Slices from Rats and Transgenic Mice for the Study of Synaptic Alterations during Aging and Amyloid Pathology
Published on: March 23, 2011
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists
Internal Receptors
Impact of Groups on Groups
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Frequency-dependent Selection
Impact
When particles with different initial velocities collide, they induce deformation by applying equal and opposite impulses. At the point of maximum deformation, the particles move together with...