Brockie P J, Maricq A V
Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0840, USA.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2006 Feb;34(Pt 1):64-7. doi: 10.1042/BST0340064.
Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are a critical component of the vertebrate central nervous system and mediate the majority of rapid excitatory neurotransmission. However, iGluRs are not self-regulating molecules and require additional proteins in order to function properly. Understanding the molecular architecture of functional glutamatergic synapses is therefore an important challenge in neurobiology. To address this question, we combine the techniques of genetics, molecular biology and electrophysiology in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. To date, genetic analysis has identified a number of genes required to build a glutamatergic synapse, including the CUB-domain transmembrane protein, SOL-1, which is thought to act as an auxiliary subunit that directly modifies iGluR function. Identifying and characterizing new proteins, such as SOL-1, in the relatively simple nervous system of the worm can contribute to our understanding of how more complex vertebrate nervous systems function.
离子型谷氨酸受体（iGluRs）是脊椎动物中枢神经系统的关键组成部分，介导了大部分快速兴奋性神经传递。然而，iGluRs不是自我调节分子，需要其他蛋白质才能正常发挥功能。因此，了解功能性谷氨酸能突触的分子结构是神经生物学中的一项重要挑战。为了解决这个问题，我们将遗传学、分子生物学和电生理学技术结合在线虫秀丽隐杆线虫中。迄今为止，遗传分析已经鉴定出许多构建谷氨酸能突触所需的基因，包括CUB结构域跨膜蛋白SOL-1，它被认为作为辅助亚基直接修饰iGluR功能。在相对简单的线虫神经系统中鉴定和表征新的蛋白质，如SOL-1，有助于我们理解更复杂的脊椎动物神经系统是如何发挥功能的。
