Exciting Times: New Advances Towards Understanding the Regulation and Roles of Kainate Receptors.

Exciting Times: New Advances Towards Understanding the Regulation and Roles of Kainate Receptors. Neurochem Res. 2017 Dec 21;: Authors: Evans AJ, Gurung S, Henley JM, Nakamura Y, Wilkinson KA Abstract Kainate receptors (KARs) are glutamate-gated ion channels that play fundamental roles in regulating neuronal excitability and network function in the brain. After being cloned in the 1990s, important progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms controlling the molecular and cellular properties of KARs, and the nature and extent of their regulation of wider neuronal activity. However, there have been significant recent advances towards understanding KAR trafficking through the secretory pathway, their precise synaptic positioning, and their roles in synaptic plasticity and disease. Here we provide an overview highlighting these new findings about the mechanisms controlling KARs and how KARs, in turn, regulate other proteins and pathways to influence synaptic function. PMID: 29270706 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Neurochemical Research - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Neurochem Res Source Type: research