Main description:

A powerful collection of readily reproducible cutting-edge techniques for characterizing the ligand or substrate binding of neurotransmitter receptors and transporters. The procedures cover interdisciplinary interactions for monoamine transporters, amino acid transporters, ionotropic receptors, metabotropic glutamate receptors, GABA receptors, and other G protein-coupled receptors. By illuminating how neurons in the central nervous communicate with other, these techniques can lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for neurological diseases.

Contents:

Part I. Molecular Pharmacology of Glutamate Receptors

Computational Studies of Ligand-Receptor Interactions in Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors
Jeremy R. Greenwood and Tommy Liljefors

Delineation of the Physiological Role of Kainate Receptors by Use of Subtype Selective Ligands
Sari E. Lauri, Vernon R. J. Clarke, and Graham L. Collingridge

Molecular Pharmacology of the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors
Anders A. Jensen

Part II. Molecular Pharmacology of Gaba Receptors

Functional Characterization of GABAA Receptor Ligands In Vitro: Correlation With In Vivo Activity
Bjarke Ebert, Sally Anne Thompson, Signe I Storustovu, and Keith A. Wafford

In Vivo Function of GABAA Receptor Subtypes Unraveled With Mutant Mice
Jean-Marc Fritschy

Characterization of the GABAA Receptor Recognition Site Through Ligand Design and Pharmacophore Modeling
Bente Froland, Anne T. Jorgensen, Tommy Liljefors, Martin Mortensen, and Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen

The GABAB Receptor: From Cloning to Knockout Mice
Bernhard Bettler and Hans Brauner-Osborne

Part III. Molecular Pharmacology of Transmitter Transporters

Structure and Molecular Characterization of the Substrate-Binding Sites of the Dual-Function Glutamate Transporters
Baruch I. Kanner, Michael P. Kavanaugh, and Lars Borre

Allosteric Modulation of Glutamate Transporters
Robert J. Vandenberg and Renae M. Ryan

Characterization of the Substrate-Binding Site in GABA Transporters
Alan Sarup, Orla Miller Larsson, and Arne Schousboe

Insights From Endogenous and Engineered Zn21 Binding Sites in Monoamine Transporters
Claus Juul Loland and Ulrik Gether

A Structural Context for Studying Neurotransmitter Transporter Function
Naomi R. Goldberg, Thijs Beuming, Harel Weinstein, and Jonathan A. Javitch

Functional Mechanisms of GProtein-Coupled Receptors in a Structural Context
Marta Filizola, Irache Visiers, Lucy Skrabanek, Fabien Campagne, and Harel Weinstein

Index