Glutamatergic Transmission: A Matter of Three

Figure 1

Model of glutamatergic synapses with the role of the three components, presynaptic neuron, postsynaptic neuron, and glial cell. Through the activation of glutamatergic receptors and transporters expressed in glial cells, these cells sense synaptic activity and regulate their protein repertoire through transcriptional and translational regulation, as well as translocation to plasmatic membrane. Some of the main contributions of glial cells to glutamatergic neurotransmission include the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle and Glu recycling through the Glu/Gln cycle.