Abstract

Fast excitatory neurotransmission in the brain is primarily driven by postsynaptic AMPA -type glutamate receptors (AMPARs). Activated upon glutamate release from presynaptic boutons, AMPA Rs provide the transient excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) required for propagation of the electrical signal. Both efficacy and reliability of the signal propagation are related to the time course and amplitude of the EPS Cs that are shaped by the gating kinetics of the AMPA Rs and thus depend on the molecular composition of the receptor channels. Recent comprehensive proteomic analyses that we performed on membrane fractions from whole rodent brain showed that native AMPA Rs are macromolecular complexes of considerable diversity assembled from a pool of more than 30 different protein constituents mostly transmembrane or secreted proteins. I will discuss the significance of the AMPAR proteome for signal transduction and its specificity in individual excitatory synapses in the mammalian brain. http://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/news-and-events/scientific-seminars/