title: Stroke intervention pathways: NMDA receptors and beyond.
abstract: Despite abundant evidence from basic/preclinical research that excessive NMDAR (N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor) stimulation is a crucial step required for brain damage following a stroke, clinical trials for NMDAR blockers have all ended with disappointments. The past decade of stroke research has revealed distinct NMDAR subpopulations and many specific effectors downstream of these receptors that are differentially responsible for neuronal survival and death. These new advancements provide promising targets for the development of novel NMDAR-based neuroprotective stroke therapies that could have greater therapeutic windows and reduced side effects. In this review, we discuss these advancements with a particular emphasis on the identification of novel signaling effectors downstream of proneuronal death NMDARs and the potential implications of these findings for the development of stroke therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Centre and Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 2B5.
authors.forename: Ted Weita
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Woei-Cherng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Shyu
authors.forename: Yu Tian
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: C121001:NR2B NMDA receptor; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate