Get receptive to metabotropic glutamate receptors

• Published in: Current opinion in neurobiology Vol. 5; no. 3; pp. 342 - 349
• Main Authors: Pin, Jean-Philippe, Bockaert, Joël
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.06.1995
• Subjects: Animals; Glutamic Acid - pharmacology; Molecular Structure; Receptors, Glutamate - classification; Receptors, Glutamate - physiology; Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate - physiology; Synapses - physiology; MCPG—α-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine; 4CPG—4-carboxyphenylglycine; 4C3HPG—4-carboxy-3-hydroxyphenylglycine; DCG-IV—2-(2,3-dicarboxycyclopropyl)-glycine; NMDA— N-methyl- d-aspartate; l-SOP — l-serine- O-phosphate; LTP—long-term potentiation; GABA—γ-aminobutyric acid; mGIuR—metabotropic glutamate receptor; LIVBP—leucine/isoleucine/valine-binding protein; lCCG-I —(2S,1'S,2'S)-2-(carboxycyclopropyl)-glycine; PLC—phospholipase C; LTD—long-term depression; ACPD—1-amino-cyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylate; lAP4 — l-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate; GPCR—G-protein-coupled receptor; LAOBP—lysine/arginine/ornithine-binding protein; BPP—bacterial periplasmic protein; AMPA—α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazole-4-propionate
• ISSN: 0959-4388; 1873-6882
• DOI: 10.1016/0959-4388(95)80047-6

Glutamate activates not only ionotropic glutamate receptors, but also G-protein-coupled receptors, called metabotropic glutamate receptors. Recent studies have revealed that these metabotropic receptors share distinctive structural properties and that they form a subgroup within the heptahelical receptor family. The development of ligands that bind specifically to these receptors has provided a means of characterizing the important roles they play in the tuning of fast synaptic transmission, including the induction of long-term changes in synaptic strength. Their involvement in the control of movement, spatial and olfactory memory and nociception has recently been demonstrated.