title: Calcium permeability of glutamate-gated channels in the central nervous system.
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.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung, Abteilung Zellphysiologie, Jahnstrasse 29, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. nail@sunny.mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Burnashev
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D002118:Calcium