Open Accessd-Serine, the Shape-Shifting NMDA Receptor Co-agonist
Author(s) -
Joseph T. Coyle,
Darrick T. Balu,
Herman Wolosker
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
neurochemical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1573-6903
pISSN - 0364-3190
DOI - 10.1007/s11064-020-03014-1
Subject(s) - glutamatergic , neuroscience , nmda receptor , excitatory postsynaptic potential , glutamate receptor , excitotoxicity , serine , agonist , biology , chemistry , receptor , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , phosphorylation , inhibitory postsynaptic potential
Shape-shifting, a phenomenon wide-spread in folklore, refers to the ability to physically change from one identity to another, typically from an innocuous entity to a destructive one. The amino acid D-serine over the last 25 years has "shape-shifted" into several identities: a purported glial transmitter activating N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), a co-transmitter concentrated in excitatory glutamatergic neurons, an autocrine that is released at dendritic spines to prime their post-synaptic NMDARs for an instantaneous response to glutamate and an excitotoxic moiety released from inflammatory (A1) astrocytes. This article will review evidence in support of these scenarios and the artifacts that misled investigators of the true identity of D-serine.