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Review
. 2024 Sep 25;17(10):1265.
doi: 10.3390/ph17101265.

NMDA Receptors: Distribution, Role, and Insights into Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Marie Beaurain  1 , Anne-Sophie Salabert  1 , Pierre Payoux  1 , Emmanuel Gras  2 , Franck Talmont  3
Affiliations
Review

NMDA Receptors: Distribution, Role, and Insights into Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Marie Beaurain et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are members of the ionotropic glutamate receptor family. These ligand-gated channels are entwined with numerous fundamental neurological functions within the central nervous system (CNS), and numerous neuropsychiatric disorders may arise from their malfunction.

Methods: The purpose of the present review is to provide a detailed description of NMDARs by addressing their molecular structures, activation mechanisms, and physiological roles in the mammalian brain. In the second part, their role in various neuropsychiatric disorders including stroke, epilepsy, anti-NMDA encephalitis, Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases, schizophrenia, depression, neuropathic pain, opioid-induced tolerance, and hyperalgesia will be covered.

Results: Finally, through a careful exploration of the main non-competitive NMDARs antagonists (channel-blockers).

Conclusion: We discuss the strengths and limitations of the various molecular structures developed for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.

Keywords: NMDA channel blockers; NMDA receptors; neuropsychiatric disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of NMDA receptors. (a) Cryo-EM structure of GluN1/GluN2B NMDA receptor in the glutamate/glycine-bound conformation (pdb 5IOU) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.03.028. (b) Schematic representation of NMDA receptors.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of NMDA receptors. (a) Cryo-EM structure of GluN1/GluN2B NMDA receptor in the glutamate/glycine-bound conformation (pdb 5IOU) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.03.028. (b) Schematic representation of NMDA receptors.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of NMDA receptor activation. NMDAR, N-methy-D-aspartate receptor; AMPAR, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structures of various NMDA receptor channels blockers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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