Calcium permeability of glutamate-gated channels in the central nervous system.
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.
Burnashev
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Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung, Abteilung Zellphysiologie, Jahnstrasse 29, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. nail@sunny.mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010539:Permeability
D007473:Ion Channels; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D002118:Calcium