Title:Glutamate Receptors in Microglia
VOLUME: 12 ISSUE: 6
Author(s):Madhuvika Murugan, Eng-Ang Ling and Charanjit Kaur
Affiliation:Department of Anatomy, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 117597, Singapore.
Keywords:AMPA receptors, cytokines, free radical production, glutamate receptors, metabotropic receptors, microglia,
NMDA receptors.
Abstract:Expression of functional glutamate receptors (GluR) on glial cells in the developing and mature brain has been
recently established. Over the last decade there has been physiological, molecular and biochemical evidence suggesting
the presence of GluR on microglia. However, the significance of GluR activation in microglia remains largely unknown.
In this review, we discuss the expression of GluR on microglia and the effect of GluR activation on microglial function.
Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, and activation of GluR in them has been shown to
regulate their immunological response which may be either neuroprotective or neurotoxic. Microglial activation is known
to initiate a myriad of molecular events such as nitric oxide production, free radicals generation, disruption of calcium
regulation and release of proinflammatory cytokines, proteases, neurotransmitters, and excitatory amino acids, primarily
glutamate. Since microglial activation has been implicated in several neuropathologies, an understanding of the pathway
coupled to the various microglial GluR will help to develop therapeutic interventions for ameliorating microglia-mediated
damage.
