Structural Correlates of Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor Function

Abstract

Recent structural and functional studies of ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) have begun to offer rare insight into the structure-function relationship for an integral membrane protein. In particular, advances in our understanding of iGluR structure are providing an opportunity to interpret functional work in terms of potential conformational changes. Moreover, working hypotheses derived from structural insight offer an opportunity to enrich and guide functional studies. This chapter summarizes knowledge of glutamate receptor structure, with an emphasis on how it has shaped our functional understanding of these receptors.