Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit a message from a nerve cell across the synapse to a target cell. The target can be a nerve cell, a muscle cell, or a gland cell. They are released by the axon terminal of a neuron (the presynaptic neuron) and bind to and react with the receptors on the dendrites of another neuron. Neurotransmitters allow the impulse to cross a synapse (excitatory) or stop the impulse and prevent it from crossing a synapse (inhibitory). Neurotransmitters are themselves affected by agonists which amplify their effect and antagonists which reduce their effect.
There are two types of receptors:
Ionotropic receptors (Ligand-gated receptors) bind ionic ligands such as K+, Na+, Cl–, and Ca2+. Examples are the Cysteine loop family (nAch-R, GABA-R, Glycine-R, 5HT-R), Glutamate-R, and Purine-R.
Figure 1 (Kandel E.R., 2014).
Metabotropic receptors (G-protein coupled receptors) bind non-ionic ligands such as chemical receptors or G protein-coupled receptors, which are single polypeptides with 7 transmembrane helixes. For example, Dopamine receptors, GABAB receptors, Glutamate receptors, and Histamine receptors. They use signal transduction mechanisms, often G proteins, to activate a series of intracellular events using second messenger chemicals.
Figure 2: (Piers C. Emson, 2010)
We supply a varied range of products assisting the research on neurotransmitters receptors such as GABA receptors, Glutamate receptors.