Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)

Editor

Personal info

View

About

Terms

Javascript disabled

Please enable Javascript support in your browser to use this application.

Instructions on how to enable JavaScript on different browsers can be found here: http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=23852.

[edit this page]

Dixon, D.B. et al.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated suppression of an inward rectifier current is linked via a cGMP cascade.

Glutamate, the neurotransmitter released by photoreceptors, excites horizontal cells and OFF-type bipolar cells by activating ionotropic receptors. This study investigated an additional action of glutamate in which it modulates a voltage-gated ion channel in horizontal cells. We find that glutamate and APB (2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate) produce a delayed and moderately prolonged suppression of an inward rectifier current (IRK+). This effect is proposed to occur via an APB-sensitive metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) because common agonists for the ionotropic or APB-insensitive mGluRs are ineffective and the APB-insensitive receptor antagonist alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG) does not block the actions of glutamate or APB. 8-Br-cGMP, 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine (IBMX), and atrial natriuretic peptide ( ANP) but not 8-Br-cAMP mimic the suppression of IRK+. The effects of glutamate and APB are blocked by protein kinase inhibitors including Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPS, H-8, and H-7 as well as by ATPgammaS. We hypothesize that the APB receptor suppresses IRK+ via upregulation of cGMP and subsequent activation of a cGMP-dependent protein kinase. This pathway is likely regulated by an ATP-dependent phosphorylation. This is a novel signaling pathway for mGluRs and indicates that at least two distinct APB-activated pathways exist in the retina. Functionally, this APB receptor-mediated action found in horizontal cells would provide a means by which spatially restricted changes of glutamate, produced by local illumination of photoreceptors, could regulate IRK+ and consequently the response properties of these neurons. This would serve to adapt selectively retinal regions stimulated by small regions of the visual world.[1]

References

Metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated suppression of an inward rectifier current is linked via a cGMP cascade. Dixon, D.B., Copenhagen, D.R. J. Neurosci. (1997) [Pubmed]

Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenes Open Access Licence Privacy Policy Terms of Use apsburg

The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.