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Cloning of a putative high-affinity kainate receptor expressed predominantly in hippocampal CA3 cells

Nature volume 351, pages 742–744 (1991)Cite this article

Abstract

KAINIC acid is a potent neurotoxin for certain neurons1. Its neurotoxicity is thought to be mediated by an excitatory amino-acid-gated ion channel (ionotropic receptor) possessing nanomolar affinity for kainate2. Here we describe a new member of the rat excitatory amino-acid receptor gene family, KA-1, that has a 30% sequence similarity with the previously characterized α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunits GluR-A to -D3–5. The pharmacological profile of expressed recombinant KA-1 determined in binding experiments with [3H]kainate is different from that of the cloned AMPA receptors and similar to the mammalian high-affinity kainate receptor (kainate > quisqualate > glutamate » AMPA) with a dissociation constant of about 5 nM for kainate2,6. The selectively high expression of KA-1 messenger RNA in the CA3 region of the hippocampus closely corresponds to autoradiographically located high-affinity kainate binding sites7–9. This correlation, as well as the particular in vivo pattern of neurodegeneration observed on kainate-induced neurotoxicity1,2, suggests that KA-1 participates in receptors mediating the kainate sensitivity of neurons in the central nervous system.

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Author notes

  1. Kari Keinänen

    Present address: VTT, Biotechnical Laboratory, PO Box 202, Tietotie 2, SF-02150, Espoo, Finland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Neuroendocrinology, Centre for Molecular Biology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, 6900, Heidelberg, Germany

    Pia Werner, Mark Voigt, Kari Keinänen, William Wisden & Peter H. Seeburg

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  1. Pia Werner
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  3. Kari Keinänen
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  4. William Wisden
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  5. Peter H. Seeburg
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Werner, P., Voigt, M., Keinänen, K. et al. Cloning of a putative high-affinity kainate receptor expressed predominantly in hippocampal CA3 cells. Nature 351, 742–744 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/351742a0

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