Abstract

AMPA -type glutamate receptors (AMPARs), the key elements of fast excitatory neurotransmission, are fundamental for normal operation of the brain. These ionotropic receptors mediate a large part of the excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) that drive point-to-point transmission in glutamatergic synapses and control both propagation of the electrical signal and the influx of calcium ions into the postsynaptic spine. By these means, AMPA Rs promote formation and maturation of new synapses and trigger a variety of activity-dependent processes that lead to alterations of both amplitude and properties of the EPS Cs. In combination, changes in signal transduction and wiring are thought to endow excitatory neurotransmission with the activity-initiated plasticity that underlies learning and memory formation. I will discuss the molecular basis of some of the aforementioned processes as encoded in the comprehensive proteome (or interactome) that we obtained with AMPA Rs isolated from the rodent brain. Particular emphasis will be on the processes that determining the assembly of functional AMPAR complexes in native ER membranes and the impact of the receptor biogenesis on synaptic transmission and its activity-dependent dynamics.