p-GluR-2/3 (Ser 880/Ser 891) Antibody: sc-17088

GluR-2/3 Background Information
Glutamate receptors mediate most excitatory neurotransmission in the brain and play an important role in neural plasticity, neural development and neurodegeneration. Ionotropic glutamate receptors are categorized into NMDA receptors and kainate/AMPA receptors, both of which contain glutamate-gated, cation-specific ion channels. Kainate/AMPA receptors are co-localized with NMDA receptors in many synapses and consist of seven structurally related subunits designated GluR-1 through 7. The kainate/AMPA receptors are primarily responsible for the fast excitatory neurotransmission by glutamate, whereas the NMDA receptors are functionally characterized by a slow kinetic neurotransmission and a high permeability for Ca++ ions. The GluR-2/3 protein is phosphorylated at Ser 880 by protein kinase C (PKC), and this phosphorylation event differentially regulates the binding of several PDZ domain-containing proteins, including PICK1. By blocking interactions between GluR-2/3 and PICK1, the phosphorylation of Glur-2/3 by PKC inhibits the expression of long-term depression of cerebral Purkinje cells in vitro.