AMPA receptor subunit mRNAs in the lumbar spinal cord

AMPA RECEPTOR SUBUNIT mRNAs IN THE LUMBAR SPINAL CORD 

Visceromotor neurons in the rat lumbosacral (L6-S1) spinal cord express different AMPA receptor subunit mRNAs from ventral horn motor neurons, namely GluR-A and -B, with little or no GluR-C or -D mRNAs (Shibata et al., 1999). Visceromotor neurons also differ from ventral horn motor neurons in their NMDA receptor subunit gene expression (Shibata et al., 1999 see above). 

Kainate receptor subunit mRNAs are not abundant in the adult spinal cord, and GluR6 is not expressed at all (Tdlle et al., 1993). In the dorsal horn, occasional cells express the GluR5 and GluR7 subunit genes, and more cells contain KA2 mRNA (Tolle et al., 1993). Kainate receptors are probably in subsets of AMPA receptor-positive cells. Most of the GluRS protein in the dorsal horn is on the primary afferent terminals of DRG cells (Woolf and Costigan, 1999). 

Motor neurons express the KAl gene, and weakly express the GluRS gene (Tdlle et al., 1993). Both 5 subunit genes are weakly expressed throughout the cord s grey matter (Tdlle et al., 1993). 

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