title: NMDA receptor subunit diversity: impact on receptor properties, synaptic plasticity and disease.
abstract: NMDA receptors (NMDARs) are glutamate-gated ion channels and are crucial for neuronal communication. NMDARs form tetrameric complexes that consist of several homologous subunits. The subunit composition of NMDARs is plastic, resulting in a large number of receptor subtypes. As each receptor subtype has distinct biophysical, pharmacological and signalling properties, there is great interest in determining whether individual subtypes carry out specific functions in the CNS in both normal and pathological conditions. Here, we review the effects of subunit composition on NMDAR properties, synaptic plasticity and cellular mechanisms implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. Understanding the rules and roles of NMDAR diversity could provide new therapeutic strategies against dysfunctions of glutamatergic transmission.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS UMR 8197, Inserm U1024, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 46 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France. pierre.paoletti@ens.fr
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paoletti
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bellone
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000502:physiology*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D021122:Protein Subunits; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate