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Glial glutamate transporters: New actors in brain signaling
Author(s) -
LópezBayghen Esther,
Ortega Arturo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
iubmb life
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.132
H-Index - 113
eISSN - 1521-6551
pISSN - 1521-6543
DOI - 10.1002/iub.536
Subject(s) - glutamate receptor , glutamatergic , neuroscience , metabotropic glutamate receptor , astrocyte , metabotropic glutamate receptor 6 , compartmentalization (fire protection) , neurotransmission , biology , excitatory postsynaptic potential , microbiology and biotechnology , metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 , metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 , synaptic cleft , neurotransmitter , chemistry , biochemistry , central nervous system , receptor , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , enzyme
Glutamate, the main excitatory amino acid in the vertebrate brain, is critically involved in most of the physiological functions of the central nervous system. It has traditionally been assumed that glutamate triggers a wide array of signaling cascades through the activation of specific membrane receptors. The extracellular levels are tightly regulated to prevent neurotoxic insults. Electrogenic Na + ‐dependent glial glutamate transporters remove the bulk of the neurotransmitter from the synaptic cleft. An exquisitely ordered coupling between glutamatergic neurons and surrounding glia cells is fundamental for excitatory transmission. The glutamate/glutamine and astrocyte/neuron lactate shuttles provide the biochemical framework of this compulsory association. In this context, recent advances show that glial glutamate transporters act as signal transducers that regulate the expression of proteins involved in their compartmentalization with neurons in the so‐called tripartite synapse. © 2011 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 2011.