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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

A High-throughput Calcium-flux Assay to Study NMDA-receptors with Sensitivity to Glycine/D-serine and Glutamate
Published on: July 10, 2018
Calcium permeability of glutamate-gated channels in the central nervous system
1Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung, Abteilung Zellphysiologie, Jahnstrasse 29, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. nail@sunny.mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de
Abstract:
Molecular cloning of ionotropic glutamate receptors and the development of new measurement techniques have significantly advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanisms controlling ligand-mediated entry of Ca2+ into neurons of the mammalian CNS. Recent studies have demonstrated that various types of glutamate receptors expressed in different nerve cells are permeable to Ca2+ to variable extents, depending on the structural peculiarities of the subunits and their composition in a particular cell. This diversity provides a regulable pathway for Ca2+ entry during synaptic transmission. The fractional contribution of this Ca2+ to the total synaptic current might be a substantial means of elevating the intracellular Ca2+ concentration over a wide temporal range.
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