Kainate receptors: an interplay between excitatory and inhibitory synapses

The potent excitatory amino acid glutamate mediates its excitatory effects through a great variety of specific ionotropic receptors, including NMDA, AMPA and kainate receptors. Despite the identification, isolation and cloning of several subunits of the kainate receptor, this receptor has been rather elusive and its function remains enigmatic. Recent results indicate that kainate receptors can be reached by synaptically released glutamate and that their activation downregulates GABAergic inhibition by modulating the reliability of GABA synapses. Thus, kainate receptors may have a role in the etiology of epilepsy and could become a target for antiepileptic drugs.