Background of the antigen
Glutamate receptors mediate most excitatory neurotransmission in the brain and play an important role in neural plasticity, neural development and neuro-degeneration. Ionotropic glutamate receptors are categorized into NMDA receptors and kainate/AMPA receptors, both of which contain glutamate-gated, cation-specific ion channels. Kainate/AMPA receptors co-localize with NMDA receptors in many synapses and consist of seven structurally related subunits designated GluR-1 to 7. The kainate/AMPA receptors are primarily responsible for fast excitatory neurotransmission by glutamate, whereas the NMDA receptors exhibit slow kinesis of Ca2+ ions and a high permeability for Ca2+ ions. One such NMDA receptor, NR3B, is expressed in motor neurons and forms cation channels impermeable to calcium, which can resist many open-channel blockers. NR3B functions in the brain as an excitatory glycine receptor, modifying the normal role of glycine as an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
