introduction: (s)- 3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (dhpg) is an agonist for group i metabotropic glutamate receptors. dhpg-induced synaptic depression of excitatory synapses on hippocampal pyramidal neurons is well known model for synaptic plasticity studies. the aim of the present study was to examine the effects of dhpg superfusion on excitatory synapses on pyramidal and fast-spiking gabaergic cel...

Kainate receptors (KARs), together with AMPA and NMDA, are typically described as ionotropic glutamate receptors. The functions of KARs have begun to be elucidated only in the last decade. Although some the actions of KARs are classically ionotropic, surprisingly others seem to involve the activation of second-messenger cascades and invoke metabotropic roles for this type of glutamate receptor....

The metabotropic glutamate receptors have a wide range of modulatory functions in the central nervous system. They are among the most highly pursued drug targets, with relevance for several neurological diseases, and a number of allosteric modulators have entered clinical trials. However, so far this has not led to a marketed drug, largely because of the difficulties in achieving subtype-select...

It is well established that BDNF may enhance oligodendrocyte differentiation following a demyelinating lesion, however, the endogenous sources of BDNF that may be harnessed to reverse deficits associated with such lesions are poorly defined. Here, we investigate roles of astrocytes in synthesizing and releasing BDNF. These cells are known to express BDNF following injury in vivo. In culture, th...

Activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 4 has been shown to be efficacious in rodent models of Parkinson's disease. Artificial neural networks were trained based on a recently reported high throughput screen which identified 434 positive allosteric modulators of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 4 out of a set of approximately 155,000 compounds. A jury system containing thre...

There are over 100 putative neurotransmitters and a vast array of neurotransmitter receptors; the same neurotransmitter may be excitatory or inhibitory, depending on whether binding to a specifi c receptor results in depolarization versus hyperpolarization, respectively. In general, all neurotransmitter receptors function by opening or closing ion channels in the postsynaptic cell membrane. The...

Kainate receptors (KARs), together with NMDA and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate receptors (AMPA), are typically described as ionotropic glutamate receptors. Although ionotropic functions for KARs are beginning to be characterized in multiple brain regions, both, in the pre- and post-synaptic compartments of the synapse, there is accumulating evidence that KARs mediate some...