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Neuroscience

A structure to remember

Nature volume 511, pages 162–163 (2014)Cite this article

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NMDA receptors are crucial in the workings of the brain and in its disorders. Two structures of almost complete receptors reveal the intricate complexity of these large, multi-domain molecular machines. See Article p.191

Since their discovery more than 30 years ago1,2,3, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) have fascinated neuroscientists. They are key mediators of synaptic plasticity, the cellular mechanism mediating information storage in the brain. Moreover, dysfunctions of NMDARs are implicated in various neuropsychiatric disorders, from schizophrenia to mental retardation and epilepsy, making them targets of therapeutic interest4. Two studies — one from Karakas and Furukawa5 published in Science, and another by Lee and colleagues6 on page 191 of this issue — present the long-awaited molecular structure of an NMDAR subtype, the GluN1–GluN2B receptor, from rats and frogs, respectively. These atomic maps offer unprecedented views and a wealth of information about a key brain receptor.

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Figure 1: Structure of an NMDA receptor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. David Stroebel and Pierre Paoletti are at the Institute of Biology, École Normale Supérieure, CNRS UMR8197, INSERM U1024, 75005 Paris, France.,

    David Stroebel & Pierre Paoletti

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  1. David Stroebel
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  2. Pierre Paoletti
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Correspondence to David Stroebel or Pierre Paoletti.

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Stroebel, D., Paoletti, P. A structure to remember. Nature 511, 162–163 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/511162a

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