Sager C, Tapken D, Kott S, Hollmann M
Department of Biochemistry I-Receptor Biochemistry, Building NC, Room 6/171, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
Neuroscience. 2009 Jan 12;158(1):45-54. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2007.12.046. Epub 2008 Jan 18.
The AMPA receptors are ligand-gated ion channels belonging to the family of ionotropic glutamate receptors. They play an essential role in fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the CNS of vertebrates. Their activity-dependent directed transport and fast turnover at the plasma membrane contribute to synaptic plasticity and require numerous trafficking and scaffolding proteins. Participating in the delivery and synaptic localization of AMPA receptors is a recently discovered protein family named transmembrane AMPA receptor regulatory proteins (TARPs). In addition to their function in trafficking, TARPs alter the biophysical properties of AMPA receptors in remarkable ways and thus contribute significantly to the functional plasticity of the synapse. The study of TARP-mediated functional plasticity of AMPA receptors, which has emerged only recently as a hot new field, promises to yield valuable insight into the regulation of neuronal communication.
AMPA受体是属于离子型谷氨酸受体家族的配体门控离子通道。它们在脊椎动物中枢神经系统的快速兴奋性突触传递中起重要作用。它们在质膜上的活性依赖性定向运输和快速周转有助于突触可塑性，并且需要众多的运输和支架蛋白。参与AMPA受体的转运和突触定位的是一个最近发现的名为跨膜AMPA受体调节蛋白（TARPs）的蛋白家族。除了在转运方面的功能外，TARPs还以显著的方式改变AMPA受体的生物物理特性，从而对突触的功能可塑性有重要贡献。对TARP介导的AMPA受体功能可塑性的研究是一个最近才兴起的热门新领域，有望为神经元通讯的调节提供有价值的见解。
