Kainate receptor brain distribution

The excitatoiy amino acids (EAA), glutamate and aspartate, are the principal excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain. They are released by neurons in several distinct anatomical pathways, such as corticofugal projections, but their distribution is practically ubiquitous in the central nervous system. There are both metabotropic and ionotropic EAA receptors. The metabotropic receptors bind glutamate and are labeled mGluRl to mGluRB. They are coupled via G-proteins to phosphoinositide hydrolysis, phospholipase D, and cAMP production. Ionotropic EAA receptors have been divided into three subtypes /V-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-proprionic acid (AMPA), and kainate receptors (Nakanishi 1992). 

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Fig. 4. (A-J) Distribution of kainate receptor subunit mRNAs in the adult rat brain (X-ray film autoradiographs, coronal sections). Arrowheads in E and F mark neocortical layer III cells expressing the GluR7 gene. AV, anteroventral thalamic nucleus BST, bed nucleus stria terminalis CC, corpus callosum white matter tract Cg. cingulate cortex Cpu, caudate putamen DG, denate granule cells DM, dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus GP, globus pallidus MPA, medial preoptic area Pir, piriform cortex Rt, reticular thalamic nucleus SCh, suprachiasmatic nucleus. Scale bar, 3.2 mm (Wisden and Seeburg, 1993a).

Gall, C., Sumikawa, K. and Lynch, G. (1990) Regional distribution of mRNA for a putative kainate receptor in rat brain. Eur. J. Pharmacol, 189, 217-221. 

This is the major fast-acting excitatory neurotransmitter with a wide distribution in the brain. There are four main types of excitatory amino acid receptors N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA), amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA), kainate (these all regulate cation channels) and metabotropic (G-protein coupled). There are many subtypes within these groups. 

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