GluN3A: An NMDA Receptor Subunit with Exquisite Properties and Functions

Figure 1

Schematic illustrating the conventional NMDAR containing GluN1 and GluN2 subunits (left), a nonconventional heterotrimeric NMDAR containing all three subunits (middle), and a glycine diheteromeric NMDAR containing GluN1 and GluN3 subunits (right). The main properties that are changed in these nonconventional NMDAR are the agonist binding, the insensitivity to Mg²⁺, and the low permeability to Ca²⁺. Thus GluN3-containing NMDAR exert a dominant-negative effect on NMDAR properties. Glu: glutamate, Gly: Glycine, Mg²⁺: magnesium, and Ca²⁺: calcium.