The N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subtype of glutamate-gated ion channels possesses high calcium permeability and unique voltage-dependent sensitivity to magnesium and is modulated by glycine. Molecular cloning identified three complementary DNA species of rat brain, encoding NMDA receptor subunits NMDAR2A (NR2A), NR2B, and NR2C, which are 55 to 70% identical in sequence. These are structurally related, with less than 20% sequence identity, to other excitatory amino acid receptor subunits, including the NMDA receptor subunit NMDAR1 (NR1). Upon expression in cultured cells, the new subunits yielded prominent, typical glutamate- and NMDA-activated currents only when they were in heteromeric configurations with NR1. NR1-NR2A and NR1-NR2C channels differed in gating behavior and magnesium sensitivity. Such heteromeric NMDA receptor subtypes may exist in neurons, since NR1 messenger RNA is synthesized throughout the mature rat brain, while NR2 messenger RNA show a differential distribution.

The decay of excitatory postsynaptic currents in central neurons mediated by alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate (AMPA) receptors is likely to be shaped either by receptor desensitization or by offset after removal of glutamate from the synaptic cleft. Native AMPA receptors show desensitization time constants of 1 to about 10 milliseconds, but the underlying molecular determinants of these large differences are unknown. Cloned AMPA receptors carrying the "flop" splice variants of glutamate receptor subtype C (GluR-C) and GluR-D are shown to have desensitization time constants of around 1 millisecond, whereas those with the "flip" variants are about four times slower. Cerebellar granule cells switch their expression of GluR-D splice variants from mostly flip forms in early stages to predominantly flop forms in the adult rat brain. These findings suggest that rapid desensitization of AMPA receptors can be regulated by the expression and alternative splicing of GluR-D gene transcripts.

O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) is a dynamic, reversible monosaccharide modifier of serine and threonine residues on intracellular protein domains. Crosstalk between O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation has been hypothesized. Here, we identified over 1750 and 16,500 sites of O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation from murine synaptosomes, respectively. In total, 135 (7%) of all O-GlcNAcylation sites were also found to be sites of phosphorylation. Although many proteins were extensively phosphorylated and minimally O-GlcNAcylated, proteins found to be extensively O-GlcNAcylated were almost always phosphorylated to a similar or greater extent, indicating the O-GlcNAcylation system is specifically targeting a subset of the proteome that is also phosphorylated. Both PTMs usually occur on disordered regions of protein structure, within which, the location of O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation is virtually random with respect to each other, suggesting that negative crosstalk at the structural level is not a common phenomenon. As a class, protein kinases are found to be more extensively O-GlcNAcylated than proteins in general, indicating the potential for crosstalk of phosphorylation with O

O-GlcNAc is a widespread dynamic carbohydrate modification of cytosolic and nuclear proteins with features analogous to phosphorylation. O-GlcNAc acts critically in many cellular processes, including signal transduction, protein degradation, and regulation of gene expression. However, the study of its specific regulatory functions has been limited by difficulties in mapping sites of O-GlcNAc modification. We report methods for direct enrichment and identification of in vivo O-GlcNAc-modified peptides through lectin weak affinity chromatography (

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In the mammalian central nervous system, the structure known as the postsynaptic density (PSD) is a dense complex of proteins whose function is to detect and respond to neurotransmitter released from presynaptic axon terminals. Regulation of protein phosphorylation in this molecular machinery is critical to the activity of its components, which include neurotransmitter receptors, kinases/ phosphatases, scaffolding molecules, and proteins regulating cytoskeletal structure. To characterize the phosphorylation state of proteins in PSD samples, we combined strong cation exchange (SCX) chromatography with IMAC. Initially, tryptic peptides were separated by cation exchange and analyzed by reverse phase chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, which led to the identification of phosphopeptides in most SCX fractions. Because each of these individual fractions was too complex to characterize completely in single LC-MS/MS runs, we enriched for phosphopeptides by performing IMAC on each SCX fraction, yielding at least a 3-fold increase in identified phosphopeptides relative to either approach alone (SCX or IMAC). This enabled us to identify at least one site of phosphorylation on 23% (287 of 1,264) of all proteins found to be present in the postsynaptic density preparation. In total, we identified 998 unique phosphorylated peptides, mapping to 723 unique sites of phosphorylation. At least one exact site of phosphorylation was determined on 62% (621 of 998) of all phosphopeptides, and ϳ80% of identified phosphorylation sites are novel. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 5: 914 -922, 2006.

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor forms a cation-selective channel with a high calcium permeability and sensitivity to channel block by extracellular magnesium. These properties, which are believed to be important for the induction of long-term changes in synaptic strength, are imparted by asparagine residues in a putative channel-forming segment of the protein, transmembrane 2 (TM2). In the NR1 subunit, replacement of this asparagine by a glutamine residue decreases calcium permeability of the channel and slightly reduces magnesium block. The same substitution in NR2 subunits strongly reduces magnesium block and increases the magnesium permeability but barely affects calcium permeability. These asparagines are in a position homologous to the site in the TM2 region (Q/R site) of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors that is occupied by either glutamine (Q) or arginine (R) and that controls divalent cation permeability of the AMPA receptor channel. Hence AMPA and NMDA receptor channels contain common structural motifs in their TM2 segments that are responsible for some of their ion selectivity and conductance properties.

In NMDA receptor channels, subtype-specific differences of Mg2+ block are determined by the NR2 subunits. Channels assembled from the NR1-NR2A or NR1-NR2B subunits are blocked more strongly than channels formed by the NR1-NR2C or NR1-NR2D subunits, predominantly reflecting a difference in voltage dependence. A determinant of Mg2+ block common to the NR2 subunits is located in the M2 domain (N-site or Q/R/N-site). However, subunit-specific differences of block suggested that additional structural elements exist. Chimeric NR2 subunits were constructed by replacing segments of the least sensitive NR2C subunit with homologous segments of the most sensitive NR2B subunit. Mutant NR2 subunits were coexpressed with wild-type NR1 in Xenopus oocytes, and Mg2+ block was quantified. Replacement of the entire M1-M4 region resulted in a chimera with a sensitivity of Mg2+ block similar to that of the NR2B wild type. Replacing smaller segments or introducing point mutations did not generate channels with Mg2+ block characteristic of NR2B wild type. However, combining in a single chimera three small segments (M1, M2-M3 linker, M4), each independently mediating an increase in Mg2+ block, produced channels close to NR2B wild type. Thus, differences in Mg2+ block as controlled by the NR2 subunits cannot be explained by a single structural determinant in addition to the N-site. Moreover, three elements of the NR2 subunit are the major determinants of subtype-specific differences of Mg2+ block in heteromeric NMDA receptor channels.