Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41904128›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Auxiliary subunits reshape structural asymmetry and functional plasticity in heterotetrameric GluA1/A2 AMPA receptor core.

Laura Y Yen, Thomas P Newton, Maria V Yelshanskaya, Muhammed Aktolun, Shanti Pal Gangwar, Rasmus P Clausen, Maria G Kurnikova, Alexander I Sobolevsky

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. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Laura Y YenDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Thomas P NewtonDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2148-525X
Maria V YelshanskayaDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Muhammed AktolunDepartment of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2155-2977
Shanti Pal GangwarDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1024-7608
Rasmus P ClausenDepartment of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Maria G KurnikovaDepartment of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8010-8374
Alexander I SobolevskyDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. as4005@cumc.columbia.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5181-8644

Funding

Single-Particle Cryo-EM Characterization of AMPA Receptor Functional StatesR01NS107253 · NINDS · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI Alexander Sobolevsky · 2018 to 2026
$3.5M
Structure and Function of Ionotropic Glutamate ReceptorsR37NS083660 · NINDS · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI Alexander Sobolevsky · 2024 to 2026
$1.7M
Structure Determination of Heterologous and Native AMPA Receptors and their Complexes with Auxiliary SubunitsF31NS147755 · NINDS · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI NEWTON, THOMAS PAYNE · 2025 to 2025
$50k
NINDS NIH HHS F31 NS147755NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS107253NINDS NIH HHS R37 NS083660U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Cancer Institute (NCI) CA206573U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) AR078814U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) NS083660U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) NS107253U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) NS132554U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) NS139087U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) NS147755
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

AMPA-subtype ionotropic glutamate receptors (AMPARs) mediate the fast component of excitatory neurotransmission. They govern synaptic plasticity that underlies learning and memory, while their dysregulation is implicated in numerous neurological disorders. The functional diversity of AMPARs arises from variations in their subunit composition and also their association with auxiliary subunits. While multiple structures of homomeric AMPARs have been reported, structural information for the heteromeric core - particularly in the absence of auxiliary subunits, which would serve as a functional and structural baseline - has been limited. Here, we report cryo-electron microscopy structures of GluA1/A2, the most abundant AMPAR di-heteromer in the brain, in the closed, open, and desensitized states. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and cross-correlating structural and functional information, we find that auxiliary subunits increase the diameter of channel pore, which corresponds to larger conductance. Likewise, we find that recovery from desensitization slows with greater disruption of two-fold rotational symmetry of the ligand-binding domain dimer in the desensitized state. Both receptor activation and desensitization vary with the type and number of associated auxiliary proteins. These structures offer a foundation for uncovering how auxiliary subunits reshape structural asymmetry and functional plasticity in heterotetrameric AMPARs.

Indexed as

Neuronal PlasticityReceptors, AMPAAnimalsCryoelectron MicroscopyHumansMolecular Dynamics SimulationProtein MultimerizationProtein SubunitsProtein SubunitsReceptors, AMPA

Identifiers

PMID41904128
PMCPMC13153358

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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.