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A single GluN2 subunit residue controls NMDA receptor channel properties via intersubunit interaction

Nature Neuroscience volume 15, pages 406–413 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

NMDA receptors (NMDARs) are glutamate-gated ion channels that are present at most excitatory mammalian synapses. The four GluN2 subunits (GluN2A–D) contribute to four diheteromeric NMDAR subtypes that have divergent physiological and pathological roles. Channel properties that are fundamental to NMDAR function vary among subtypes. We investigated the amino acid residues responsible for variations in channel properties by creating and examining NMDARs containing mutant GluN2 subunits. We found that the NMDAR subtype specificity of three crucial channel properties, Mg2+ block, selective permeability to Ca2+ and single-channel conductance, were all controlled primarily by the residue at a single GluN2 site in the M3 transmembrane region. Mutant cycle analysis guided by molecular modeling revealed that a GluN2-GluN1 subunit interaction mediates the site's effects. We conclude that a single GluN2 subunit residue couples with the pore-forming loop of the GluN1 subunit to create naturally occurring variations in NMDAR properties that are critical to synaptic plasticity and learning.

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Figure 1: Transmembrane topology and sequence alignment of NMDARs.
Figure 2: Search for GluN2 residues that affect the NMDAR subtype specificity of Mg2+ block.
Figure 3: The GluN2 S/L site regulates the NMDAR subtype specificity of Mg2+ block.
Figure 4: The GluN2 S/L site contributes to NMDAR subtype specificity of relative Ca2+ permeability.
Figure 5: The GluN2 S/L site controls the NMDAR subtype specificity of single-channel conductance.
Figure 6: Influence on Mg2+ inhibition of mutations at the GluN2 S/L site.
Figure 7: Homology model of the GluN1/2A receptor M2–M3 regions based on the NaK channel structure.
Figure 8: Mutant cycle examination of intersubunit interactions involved in NMDAR subtype specificity of Mg2+ block.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank A. Qian for valuable contributions to and advice on initial experiments, K. Bouch and C. Shiber for excellent technical assistance, M. Pellegrino for generous help with statistical analyses, M. Casio and A. Retchless for helpful discussions and comments on the manuscript, S. Meriney, M. Grabe, D. Wood and members of the Johnson laboratory for helpful discussions, and D. Colquhoun for making available the DC Analysis programs for single-channel analysis. This work was supported by US National Institutes of Health grants R01 MH045817 and associated S1 supplement (J.W.J.) and F31 MH079755 (B.S.R.).

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  1. Beth Siegler Retchless & Wei Gao

    Present address: Present addresses: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA (B.S.R.), Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA (W.G.).,

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  1. Department of Neuroscience and Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Beth Siegler Retchless, Wei Gao & Jon W Johnson

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  1. Beth Siegler Retchless
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All the authors participated in experimental design and analysis, and in revision of the manuscript. B.S.R. and W.G. performed the experiments. B.S.R. and J.W.J. wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jon W Johnson.

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Retchless, B., Gao, W. & Johnson, J. A single GluN2 subunit residue controls NMDA receptor channel properties via intersubunit interaction. Nat Neurosci 15, 406–413 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3025

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