Abstract
Ionotropic glutamate receptors are ligand-gated ion channels that mediate excitatory synaptic transmission in the vertebrate brain. To gain a better understanding of how structural changes gate ion flux across the membrane, we trapped rat AMPA (a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) and kainate receptor subtypes in their major functional states and analysed the resulting structures using cryo-electron microscopy. We show that transition to the active state involves a 'corkscrew' motion of the receptor assembly, driven by closure of the ligandbinding domain. Desensitization is accompanied by disruption of the amino-terminal domain tetramer in AMPA, but not kainate, receptors with a two-fold to four-fold symmetry transition in the ligand-binding domains in both subtypes. The 7.6 A structure of a desensitized kainate receptor shows how these changes accommodate channel closing. These findings integrate previous physiological, biochemical and structural analyses of glutamate receptors and provide a molecular explanation for key steps in receptor gating.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 328-334 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Nature |
Volume | 514 |
Issue number | 7522 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 3 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General