In recombinant N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, two redox modulatory sites are thought to exist, one formed by Cys744 and Cys798 on NMDA receptor subunit (NR) 1, and a second one, not yet localized, on NR2A. Reductants increase the open dwell-time and opening frequency of NR1/NR2A channels. In contrast, NR1/NR2B and NR1/NR2C channels exhibit changes only in opening frequency after redox t...

Zinc is hypothesized to be co-released with glutamate at synapses of the central nervous system. Zinc binds to NR1/NR2A N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors with high affinity and inhibits NMDAR function in a voltage-independent manner. The serine protease plasmin can cleave a number of substrates, including protease-activated receptors, and may play an important role in several disorders of t...

Fyn, a member of the Src-family protein-tyrosine kinase (PTK), is implicated in learning and memory that involves N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor function. In this study, we examined how Fyn participates in synaptic plasticity by analyzing the physical and functional interaction between Fyn and NMDA receptors. Results showed that tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2A, one of the NMDA receptor s...

Effects of suppressing the protein expression of Pyk2 on increased tyrosine phosphorylation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit 2A (NR2A) after brain ischemia in rat hippocampus were studied with immunoprecipitation and immunoblot. Transient (15 min) brain ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) was induced by four-vessel occlusion in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. I/R led to increases of tyrosin...

Activation of NMDA receptors (NMDARs) within the CNS represents a major signal for persistent alterations in glutamatergic signaling, such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression. NMDARs are composed of a combination of NR1 and NR2 subunits, with distinct NR2 subunits imparting distinct characteristics on the receptor. One particular NR2 subunit, NR2A (NRepsilon1), has been pro...

Single-channel recordings were obtained from Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit NR1 in combination with NR2A, NR2B, NR2C, or NR2A/NR2B. NMDA-activated currents were recorded under control conditions and in the presence of a thiol reductant (DTT), an oxidant (5, 5'-dithio-bis[2-nitrobenzoic acid], DTNB), or the noncompetitive antagonist ...

Micromolar concentrations of extracellular Zn2+ are known to antagonize native NMDA receptors via a dual mechanism involving both a voltage-independent and a voltage-dependent inhibition. We have tried to evaluate the relative importance of these two effects and their subunit specificity on recombinant NMDA receptors expressed in HEK 293 cells and Xenopus oocytes. The comparison of NR1a-NR2A an...

We have used a heterologous system of expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors based on the use of vaccinia virus to analyse the maturation, transport, assembly and differential expression of the NR1 and NR2A subunits of the receptors. We have demonstrated that the NR1 subunit is efficiently transported to the plasma membrane in cells expressing NR1 alone, similarly to cells producin...

The N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor (NMDAR), long implicated in developmental plasticity, shows decay time kinetics that shorten postnatally as NR2A subunits are added to the receptor. Neither the mechanism nor immediate effect of this change is known. We studied developing NMDAR currents by using visual neurons in slices from NR2A knockout (NR2AKO) and WT mice. Both strains show...

Objective. Seizure disorders are one of the most disabling, life-threatening, and the least understood syndromes associated with neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE). N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are a subgroup of the glutamate receptor family, whose NR2A subunit was found on neuronal cells (anti-NR2A) in NPSLE patients with different types of epilepsy. The present study was conducted to deter...