title: Molecular organization of the postsynaptic specialization.
abstract: A specific set of molecules including glutamate receptors is targeted to the postsynaptic specialization of excitatory synapses in the brain, gathering in a structure known as the postsynaptic density (PSD). Synaptic targeting of glutamate receptors depends on interactions between the C-terminal tails of receptor subunits and specific PDZ domain-containing scaffold proteins in the PSD. These scaffold proteins assemble a specialized protein complex around each class of glutamate receptor that functions in signal transduction, cytoskeletal anchoring, and trafficking of the receptors. Among the glutamate receptor subtypes, the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor is relatively stably integrated in the PSD, whereas the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor moves in and out of the postsynaptic membrane in highly dynamic fashion. The distinctive cell biological behaviors of N-methyl-d-aspartate and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors can be explained by their differential interactions with cytoplasmic proteins.
authors: Department of Neurobiology, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 50 Blossom Street (Wel 423), Boston, MA 02114, USA. sheng@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Sheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; C033652:postsynaptic density proteins