TY - JOUR
T1 - Atypical neural messengers
AU - Barañano, David E.
AU - Ferris, Christopher D.
AU - Snyder, Solomon H.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Notions of what constitutes a neurotransmitter have changed markedly with the advent in the past decade of synaptic molecules, which satisfy key neurotransmitter criteria but differ radically from classical transmitters. Thus, NO and carbon monoxide are neither stored in synaptic vesicles nor released by exocytosis. These gases do not act via traditional receptors on postsynaptic membranes. In addition, zinc, stored together with glutamate in synaptic vesicles, appears to act as an 'antagonist' co-transmitter at the NMDA receptor, and although localized exclusively to glia, D-serine fulfills most neurotransmitter criteria as an endogenous ligand for the 'glycine' site of NMDA receptors.
AB - Notions of what constitutes a neurotransmitter have changed markedly with the advent in the past decade of synaptic molecules, which satisfy key neurotransmitter criteria but differ radically from classical transmitters. Thus, NO and carbon monoxide are neither stored in synaptic vesicles nor released by exocytosis. These gases do not act via traditional receptors on postsynaptic membranes. In addition, zinc, stored together with glutamate in synaptic vesicles, appears to act as an 'antagonist' co-transmitter at the NMDA receptor, and although localized exclusively to glia, D-serine fulfills most neurotransmitter criteria as an endogenous ligand for the 'glycine' site of NMDA receptors.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0166-2236(00)01716-1
DO - 10.1016/S0166-2236(00)01716-1
M3 - Review article
C2 - 11164940
AN - SCOPUS:0035254766
SN - 0166-2236
VL - 24
SP - 99
EP - 106
JO - Trends in neurosciences
JF - Trends in neurosciences
IS - 2
ER -