Cellular and synaptic localization of NMDA and non-NMDA receptor subunits in neocortex: organizational features related to cortical circuitry, function and disease.
Excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptors are an important component of neocortical circuitry as a result of their role as the principal mediators of excitatory synaptic activity, as well as their involvement in use-dependent modifications of synaptic efficacy, excitoxicity and cell death. The diversity in the effects generated by EAA-receptor activation can be attributed to multiple receptor subtypes, each of which is composed of multimeric assemblies of functionally distinct receptor subunits. The use of subunit-specific antibodies and molecular probes now makes it feasible to localize individual receptor subunits anatomically with a high level of cellular and synaptic resolution. Initial studies of the distribution of immunocytochemically localized EAA-receptor subunits suggest that particular subunit combinations exhibit a differential cellular, laminar and regional distribution in the neocortex. While such patterns might indicate that the functional heterogeneity of EAA-receptor-linked circuits, and the cell types in which they operate, are based partly on differential subunit parcellation, a definitive integration of these anatomical details into current schemes of cortical circuitry and organization awaits many further studies. Ideally, such studies should link a high level of molecular precision regarding subunit localization with synaptic details of identified connections and neurochemical features of neocortical cells.
Huntley
G W
GW
Fishberg Research Center for Neurobiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY 10029.
Vickers
J C
JC
Morrison
J H
JH
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D000882:Haplorhini; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D009498:Neurotoxins; D051381:Rats; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014981:Xenopus
D009498:Neurotoxins; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate