Hidden switch lets two of four receptor subunits open brain ion channel

To transmit excitatory signals, nerve cells mostly use glutamate as a neurotransmitter.

To detect these transmitter signals, the cells can rely on a whole repertoire of receptors with different signaling properties.

Researchers at the Chair of Cellular Neurobiology, led by Professor Andreas Reiner at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, together with collaboration partners in New York (Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine), investigated the function of a specific glutamate receptor complex and made some surprising observations.

Their findings were reported in the journal Nature Communications on April 24, 2026. ...