Autoantibodies to glutamate receptor
GluR3 in Rasmussen's encephalitis.
Blocking glutamate receptors below the injury, such as GluR3, a subunit of the AMPA receptor family, has been shown to decrease the hyperexcitability of dorsal horn neurons and lessen mechanical allodynia in rats with severe contusive SCI [14, 15].
Rather than focus on the dysregulation of inhibitory ([GAD.sub.65/67] and GLRA3) and excitatory (GluR3) neurotransmission within the dorsal horn, near to the injury, in the present work the temporal (1 and 12 weeks) and spatial expression profiles of these markers were investigated along the thoracic and lumbar cord.
Survival times were one week and twelve weeks after injury for the assessment of acute and chronic protein levels of GluR3, [GAD.sub.65/67], and GLRA3 above (T5/6) and below (T10/11, L2, and L5) the injury site.
Physiologically, [Ca.sup.2+]-permeability mediated by GluR1 and/or
GluR3 subunits is strongly associated with granule cell maturation [76-78].
We examined the developmental expression of GluR subunits on embryonic days 10 through 20 (E10-E20) in the EW of chicks (Gallus gallus), We used antisera against GluR1 or GluR4, as well as an antiserum that was selective for, but did not distinguish between, GluR2 and
GluR3 (GluR2/3).
(7) An auto-immune process of injury was suggested by a report that found a link between RS and the circulating antibodies to glutamate receptor 3 (
GluR3), a ligand-gated ion channel receptor in the central nervous system.
Jia, "Synaptic transmission and plasticity in the absence of AMPA glutamate receptor GluR2 and
GluR3," Neuron, vol.
We used antibodies against subunits GluR1, GluR4, and a third (GluR2/3), which recognizes a common epitope of the GluR2 and
GluR3 subunits.
Antibodies used included those directed against AMPA receptor subunits GluR1 and GluR4, and one antibody that detects both GluR2 and
GluR3 subunits.