Surface trafficking of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors: Physiological and pathological perspectives

1. Neuroscience. 2009 Jan 12;158(1):4-18. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.05.029.
Epub 2008 Jun 26.

Surface trafficking of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors: physiological and
pathological perspectives.

Groc L(1), Bard L, Choquet D.

Author information:
(1)Physiologie Cellulaire de la Synapse, UMR 5091 Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique, Université Bordeaux 2, 146 rue Leo Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, Cedex,
France.

The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) plays a crucial role in shaping the
strength of synaptic connections. Over the last decades, extensive studies have
defined the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which synaptic NMDARs control
the maturation and plasticity of synaptic transmission, and how altered synaptic
NMDAR signaling is implicated in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. It
is now clear that activation of synaptic or extrasynaptic NMDARs produces
different signaling cascades and thus neuronal functions. Our current
understanding of NMDAR surface distribution and trafficking is only emerging.
Exchange of NMDARs between synaptic and extrasynaptic areas through surface
diffusion is a highly dynamic and regulated process. The aim of this review is to
describe the identified mechanisms that regulate surface NMDAR behaviors and
discuss the impact of this new trafficking pathway on the well-established
NMDAR-dependent physiological and pathophysiological processes.

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.05.029
PMID: 18583064 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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