Glutamate receptor GluA2 – the key to the fortress of reason
The receptor map will allow you to find a way to treat
Elena Novoselova, "Living Systems"Scientists from the Oregon State University of Health and Sciences (USA) have made a discovery whose significance cannot be overestimated: researchers have managed to determine the complete spatial structure of a complex and important brain receptor, which in the future should ensure the development of new treatment methods for a number of neurological disorders, including epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.
Scientists have mapped the structure of glutamate receptors, which act as intermediaries in the transmission of signals between brain neurons, and also play an important role in the processes of memory formation and learning. When the neurotransmitter glutamate binds to these receptors, ion channels open in the neuron membrane, which ensures that the pulse is carried out.
The researchers studied the glutamate receptors of the rat GluA2. To do this, they examined the crystal structures formed by these proteins by X-ray crystallography. By observing the rays scattered when passing through the crystal, the specialists managed to get a picture of a single protein at the atomic level.
The GluA2 receptor consists of three main parts and has a Y-shaped shape, at the top of which is the binding region with glutamate. Quite unexpectedly, it turned out that the four protein subunits have the same chemical composition, but differ in pairs by the type of spatial organization. In this work, the structure of the receptor with a closed ion channel was studied. Subsequent studies should analyze the organization of glutamate receptors at the time of the opening of ion channels.
Knowledge of the structural structure of receptors is very important from the point of view of finding optimal compounds for their inhibition or activation, which plays a role in the development and design of drug compounds.
The results of the work are published in the journal Nature: 'Temple of the mind' unlockedEternal Youth Portal www.vechnayamolodost.ru