AMPA-type glutamate receptors: Regulation of receptor activity, synaptic and recycling

Glutamate receptors mediate most fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the CNS and are involved in synaptic plasticity mechanisms that may underlie learning and memory. Glutamate receptors are known to be modulated by protein phosphorylation, cross talking between different neurotransmitter receptors, but also by protein-protein interactions. These mechanisms seem to be important to glutamate receptor localisation to defined postsynaptic sites, and to the regulation of receptor cycling. In this mini-review, we will discuss recent evidences concerning the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of glutamate receptors of the AMPA subtype, which are thought to mediate synaptic plasticity.