Venue: CARF
Shujia Zhu
Institute of Neuroscience – Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
https://faculty.sustech.edu.cn/zhusj/en/
Invited by Laurent Groc (IINS)
Title
Native NMDA receptors in the brain: from atomic structure to brain disorders
Abstract
N-methyl-ᴅ-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are glutamate-gated and calcium-permeable ion channels that are essential for neuronal development and synaptic plasticity. Dysfunction of these receptors has been implicated in brain disorders including depression, epilepsy, chronic pain and autoimmune encephalitis. Combining in-depth interdisciplinary approaches including cryo-EM, electrophysiology, pharmacology, genetic code expansion, artificial intelligence-driven drug design and behaviors, we aim to decode the biophysical, functional and pharmacological diversity of various NMDARs in the brain. In this seminar, I will talk about: (1) Assembly and architecture of endogenous NMDA receptors in adult cerebral cortex and hippocampus (Cell 2025); (2) Structural insights into the diverse actions of magnesium on NMDA receptors (Neuron 2025); (3) Molecular mechanism underlying the rapid-antidepressant ketamine’s action on NMDARs (Nature 2021; Sci Adv 2025); (4) Structural basis of patient autoantibody mediated anti-NMDAR encephalitis (NSMB 2024).
Selected publications
- Zhang M, Feng J, Xie C, Song N, Jin C, Wang J, Zhao Q, Zhang L, Wang B, Sun Y, Guo F, Li Y#, Zhu S#. Assembly and architecture of endogenous NMDA receptors in adult cerebral cortex and hippocampus (2025) Cell. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.01.004.
- Huang X*, Sun X*, Wang Q*, Zhang J, Wen H, Chen W#, Zhu S#. Structural insights into the diverse actions of magnesium on NMDA receptors (2025). Neuron. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.01.021
- Wang H*, Xie C*, Deng B*, Ding J*, Li N*, Kou Z, Jin M, He J, Wang Q, Wen H, Zhang J, Zhou Q, Chen S#, Chen X#, Yuan T#, Zhu S#. Structural basis for antibody-mediated NMDA receptor clustering and endocytosis in autoimmune encephalitis (2024) Struct. Mol. Biol. Dec;31(12):1987-1996.
- Zhang Y*, Ye F*, Zhang T*, Lv S, Zhou L, Du D, Lin H, Guo F, Luo C#, Zhu S#. (2021) Structural basis of ketamine action on human NMDA receptors. Nature. 596, 301–305.
Biosketch
Dr. Shujia Zhu received her bachelor’s degree from Zhejiang University of Technology in 2006. She completed master degree in physiology at East China Normal University, and embarked on PhD degree in neuroscience under the supervision of Prof. Pierre Paoletti at the École Normale Supérieure de Paris (France) in 2009. Her Ph.D thesis received the highest academic distinction (Très honorable) from the Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (France). In 2014 she pursued her postdoctoral training with Prof. Eric Gouaux (HHMI) at the Vollum Institute at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, USA. She joined Institute of Neuroscience (CAS, China) in 2016 as the principal investigator and group leader of the Laboratory of Structure-Function Studies of Synaptic Proteins, and was promoted to tenure in 2022. Her research focuses on elucidating the structure, gating mechanisms, and pharmacological properties of NMDA receptors in the brain. Dr. Zhu has published a series of high-impact papers, including Cell (2016, 2025), Nature (2021), Neuron (2021, 2025), Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (2023, 2024).