AMPA-selective glutamate receptor subunits and their relation to glutamate- and GABA-like immunoreactive terminals in the nucleus submedius of the rat

Author: L Hamlin1, L Mackerlova, A Blomqvist, A C Ericson
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Linköping, Sweden.
Conference/Journal: Neurosci Lett
Date published: 1996 Oct 18
Other: Volume ID: 217 , Issue ID: 2-3 , Pages: 149-52 , Word Count: 116


Glutamate plays an important role in supraspinal nociceptive systems. Thus, glutamate is present in the nucleus submedius of the medial thalamus, a major relay for nociceptive information. In this study, immunoreactivity for the four subunits (GluR1-4) of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxasoleproprionate (AMPA) receptors was examined by a preembedding immunohistochemical method in order to evaluate the presence of this glutamate receptor subtype in the nucleus submedius. Combining the preembedding method with a postembedding immunogold technique, we found that AMPA receptor-like immunoreactivity was present postsynaptically to glutamatergic terminals but not to terminals containing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). These findings suggest a role for AMPA receptors in excitatory synaptic transmission in the nucleus submedius of the rat thalamus.


PMID: 8916094