title: GluA2-lacking, calcium-permeable AMPA receptors--inducers of plasticity?
abstract: AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are heterotetromeric complexes composed of GluA1-4 subunits. They are glutamate-gated channels traditionally considered solely as ion carriers for postsynaptic depolarization. However, the existence and dynamic regulation of GluA2-lacking, calcium-permeable AMPARs (Cp-AMPARs) enable these special receptors to serve also as signaling molecules presumably via calcium influx. Recent studies have implicated Cp-AMPARs in several types of synaptic plasticity, including homeostatic synaptic regulation and Hebbian synaptic plasticity. Cp-AMPARs are usually expressed transiently at an early stage of synaptic plasticity, but are then replaced with normal GluA2-containing receptors, indicating a role for Cp-AMPARs in induction, rather than the maintenance, of synaptic plasticity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington St., Boston, MA 02215, USA. hman@bu.edu
authors.forename: Heng-Ye
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Man
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000378:metabolism*; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium; D018091:Receptors, AMPA