title: Metabotropic glutamate receptors: physiology, pharmacology, and disease.
abstract: The metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are family C G-protein-coupled receptors that participate in the modulation of synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability throughout the central nervous system. The mGluRs bind glutamate within a large extracellular domain and transmit signals through the receptor protein to intracellular signaling partners. A great deal of progress has been made in determining the mechanisms by which mGluRs are activated, proteins with which they interact, and orthosteric and allosteric ligands that can modulate receptor activity. The widespread expression of mGluRs makes these receptors particularly attractive drug targets, and recent studies continue to validate the therapeutic utility of mGluR ligands in neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, USA. colleen.niswender@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Colleen M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Niswender
authors.forename: P Jeffrey
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Conn
mesh_terms: D000494:Allosteric Regulation; D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate