Amino Acid Neurotransmitters

Jeremy M Henley, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0000010

Amino acid neurotransmitters are single amino acid residues that are released from presynaptic nerve terminals in response to an action potential, cross the synaptic cleft, and bind to specific receptor proteins on the postsynaptic membrane to elicit a postsynaptic response.

Keywords: neurobiology; excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission; amino acid receptors

Figure 1. Topology of (a) glutamate and (b) -aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) and glycine receptor subunits. Based on sequence analysis and topology, glutamate receptor subunits do not share a common ancestral origin with GABAA and glycine receptors. The latter two receptors appear to be more closely related to the extensively characterized nicotinic acetylcholine receptor superfamily than to the glutamate receptor superfamily.
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 References
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    Betz H (1992) Structure and function of inhibitory glycine receptors. Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics 25: 381–394.
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    Rajendra S, Lynch JW and Schofield PR (1997) The glycine receptor. Pharmacology and Therapeutics 73: 121–146.
    Stephenson FA (1995) The GABAA receptors. Biochemical Journal 310: 1–9.
 Further Reading
    Ben-Ari Y, Khazipov R, Leinekugel X, Caillard O and Gaiarsa JL (1997) GABAA, NMDA and AMPA receptors: a developmentally regulated ‘menage a trois’. Trends in Neuroscience 20: 523–529.
    Betz H (1991) Glycine receptors: heterogeneous and widespread in the mammalian brain. Trends in Neuroscience 14: 458–461.
    book Collingridge GL and Watkins JC (eds) (1994) The NMDA Receptor, 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    book Enna SJ and Bowery NG (eds) (1997) The GABA Receptors, 2nd edn. Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
    Kuhse J and Betz H (1995) The inhibitory glycine receptor: architecture, synaptic localization and molecular pathology of a postsynaptic ion–channel complex. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 5: 318–323.
    book Monaghan DT and Wenthold RJ (eds) (1997) The Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors. Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
    Vannier C and Triller A (1997) Biology of the postsynaptic glycine receptor. International Review of Cytology 176: 201–244.

Related Sub-Topics:

Neurotransmitters | Receptors for Neurotransmitters
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Article Title: Amino Acid Neurotransmitters
 
How to Cite close
Henley, Jeremy M(Apr 2001) Amino Acid Neurotransmitters. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0000010]