Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41656278›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Structural basis for activation and conformational plasticity of the GluA4 AMPA receptor.

W D Hale, Haobo Wang, Richard L Huganir, Edward C Twomey

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

W D HaleSolomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Haobo WangSolomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-3902-8326
Richard L HuganirSolomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. rhuganir@jhmi.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9783-5183
Edward C TwomeySolomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Twomey@jhmi.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1855-1586

Funding

The Dynamic AMPA Receptor Interactome During Plasticity and LearningR37NS036715 · NINDS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Richard L Huganir · 2022 to 2026
$3.2M
Ligand Gated Ion Channels Across Time and SpaceR35GM154904 · NIGMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Edward C Twomey · 2024 to 2026
$1.2M
Structure-guided functional analysis of GluA4-NPTX2 interaction during PVIN homeostatic scalingK99MH132811 · NIMH · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI HALE, WILLIAM DYLAN · 2023 to 2024
$206k
Diana Helis Henry Medical Research Foundation 142548Kinship Foundation 22098168NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM154904NIMH NIH HHS K99 MH132811U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) R35GM154904U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R37NS036715
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

AMPA-subtype glutamate receptors (AMPARs) mediate excitatory synaptic transmission. AMPAR ion channels exhibit multiple subconductance states that tune neuronal responses to glutamate. GluA4 is the rarest subunit in the brain but is enriched in interneurons and the cerebellum. Rising evidence points to GluA4 AMPARs in the development of neurological diseases, but the structural mechanisms of GluA4 function remain enigmatic. Here, we show the distinct features of GluA4 that tune AMPAR function. We find that GluA4 AMPARs have a canonical "Y" shaped architecture where local dimer pairs are domain-swapped between the amino terminal domain (NTD) and ligand binding domain (LBD), both of which comprise the extracellular domain. All four LBDs are glutamate bound yet open the GluA4 ion channel by asymmetric hinging in all four channel helices. We observe that the glutamate-saturated LBD has conformational plasticity, which tunes the ion channel gate below. These data provide a framework for understanding channel subconductance, outline the distinct properties of GluA4, expand our understanding of conformational plasticity in AMPARs, and will inform therapeutic design.

Indexed as

Receptors, AMPAAnimalsGlutamic AcidHEK293 CellsHumansIon Channel GatingModels, MolecularProtein ConformationProtein Domainsglutamate receptor ionotropic, AMPA 4Glutamic AcidReceptors, AMPA

Identifiers

PMID41656278
PMCPMC13031777

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.