Regulation of Synaptic NMDA Receptor Activity by Post-Translational Modifications.

NMDA receptors for the neurotransmitter glutamate are widely distributed in the central nervous system, playing important roles in brain development, function and plasticity. Alterations in their activity are also important mediators in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. The different NMDA receptor subunits (GluN1, GluN2A-D and GluN3A, B) share a similar structure and membrane topology, with an intracellular C-terminus tail responsible for the interaction with proteins important for the trafficking of the receptors, and to control their surface distribution and signalling activity.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor-induced regulation of RNA metabolism in neuronal development and synaptic plasticity.

The neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays multiple roles in the nervous system, including in neuronal development, in long-term synaptic potentiation in different brain regions, and in neuronal survival. Alterations in these regulatory mechanisms account for several diseases of the nervous system. The synaptic effects of BDNF mediated by activation of tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) receptors are partly mediated by stimulation of local protein synthesis which is now considered a ubiquitous feature in both presynaptic and postsynaptic compartments of the neuron.