The unique taste induced by monosodium glutamate is referred to as umami taste. The umami taste is also elicited by the purine nucleotides inosine 5'-monophosphate and guanosine 5'-monophosphate. There is evidence that a heterodimeric G protein-coupled receptor, which consists of the T1R1 (taste receptor type 1, member 1, Tas1r1) and the T1R3 (taste receptor type 1, member 3, Tas1r3) proteins, ...

Metabotropic glutamate receptors have been shown to stimulate phosphatidylinositol metabolism, and subsequently liberate Ca2+ from intracellular stores, in a variety of tissue and cell types. We previously demonstrated that glutamate could stimulate phosphatidylinositol metabolism, generating inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), in isolated cochlear nucleus tissue from the chick. Using the calci...

We sought to test the hypothesis that cardiovascular responses to activation of ionotropic, but not metabotropic, glutamate receptors in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) depend on soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) and that inhibition of sGC would attenuate baroreflex responses to changes in arterial pressure. In adult male Sprague-Dawley rats anesthetized with chloralose, the ionotropic recept...

Activation of both presynaptic metabotropic cannabinoid type 1 receptors (CB(1)s) and ionotropic kainate receptors (KARs) can efficiently modulate GABA release at many synapses of the CNS. The inhibitory effect of kainic acid (KA) has been ascribed to metabotropic actions, and KAR-induced release of secondary neuromodulatory agents may partly mediate these actions. Here, we investigated the inv...

Na+-K+-2Cl-cotransporters are important in renal salt reabsorption and in salt secretion by epithelia. They are also essential in maintenance and regulation of ion gradients and cell volume in both epithelial and nonepithelial cells. Expression of Na+-K+-2Cl-cotransporters in brain tissues is high; however, little is known about their function and regulation in neurons. In this study, we examin...

Glutamatergic synapses on pyramidal neurons are formed on dendritic spines where glutamate activates ionotropic receptors, and calcium influx via N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors leads to a localized rise in spine calcium that is critical for the induction of synaptic plasticity. In the basolateral amygdala, activation of metabotropic receptors is also required for synaptic plasticity and amygdal...

Morphological and electrophysiological evidence has been accumulated in recent years to indicate that a functional gradient exists along the septo-temporal axis of the hippocampus such that spatial memory is associated primarily with the dorsal (septal) sector while the functions of the ventral sector are not yet clearly defined. Also, the ventral hippocampus (VH) is reported to express a much ...

The selective glutamate metabotropic receptor agonist (1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (1S,3R-ACPD) was applied iontophoretically to cells in the rat primary somatosensory cortex (SI) in vivo. In contrast to other in vivo studies, distinct excitatory and depressant effects were observed. The excitatory responses could not be blocked by ionotropic antagonists, as evidence that t...

We used receptor autoradiography to determine the distribution of excitatory amino acid (EAA) binding site subtypes in the periaqueductal gray (PAG) of the rat. N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), kainate, quisqualate-ionotropic, and quisqualate-metabotropic binding sites were all present in the PAG. Distribution was inhomogeneous with greatest density of all binding site subtypes in the dorsolateral ...