A long-standing question in neurobiology is whether astrocytes respond to the neuronal release of neurotransmitters in vivo. To address this question, acutely isolated hippocampal slices were loaded with the calcium-sensitive dye Calcium Green-1 and the responses of the astrocytes to electrical stimulation of the Schaffer collaterals were monitored by confocal microscopy. To confirm that the re...

A number of gustatory receptors have been proposed to underlie umami, the taste of L-glutamate, and certain other amino acids and nucleotides. However, the response profiles of these cloned receptors have not been validated against responses recorded from taste receptor cells that are the native detectors of umami taste. We investigated umami taste responses in mouse circumvallate taste buds in...

l-Glutamate (Glu) activates at least eight different G protein-coupled receptors known as metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors, which mostly act regulators of synaptic transmission. These consist two domains: an extracellular domain in agonists bind and a transmembrane heptahelix region involved protein activation. Although new mGlu receptor antagonists have been described, few are selective...

A family of proteins has been identified whose members, the Shanks, physically link two major receptor complexes at excitatory synapses - NMDA receptors and metabotropic glutamate receptors.