Abstract
Glutamate receptors are the major excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in the central nervous system. A variety of data has recently suggested that protein phosphorylation of glutamate receptors regulates their function. To examine at a molecular level the role of protein phosphorylation in the modification of glutamate receptors, we have transiently expressed the non-NMDA glutamate receptor subunit GluR1 (flop) in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Using a polyclonal antipeptide antiserum directed specifically against GluR1, we have immunoprecipitated a 106 kDa phosphoprotein corresponding to the GluR1 subunit. Phosphoamino acid analysis and thermolytic peptide mapping demonstrate that this basal phosphorylation occurs exclusively on serine residues in two phosphopeptides. Application of activators of endogenous cAMP-dependent protein kinase or protein kinase C revealed no consistant changes in the phosphorylation of GluR1. However, coexpression of the GluR1 subunit with the well characterized protein tyrosine kinase v-src results in phosphorylation of GluR1 on tyrosine residues, in a single thermolytic phosphopeptide. These results suggest that GluR1 may be a substrate for protein serine/threonine kinases as well as protein tyrosine kinases in the central nervous system.
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Abbreviations
- AMPA:
-
α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate
- CNS:
-
central nervous system
- NMDA:
-
N-methyl-D-aspartate;
- PAGE:
-
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
- PBS:
-
phosphate-buffered saline
- PMSF:
-
phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride
- SDS:
-
sodium dodecyl sulfate
- TBS:
-
Tris-buffered saline
- TPA:
-
phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate
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Special issue dedicated to Dr. Paul Greengard.
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Moss, S.J., Blackstone, C.D. & Huganir, R.L. Phosphorylation of recombinant non-NMDA glutamate receptors on serine and tyrosine residues. Neurochem Res 18, 105–110 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00966929
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00966929