mGluR Receptor Group

Pathway Information

The metabotropic glutamate receptors, or mGluRs, are a type of glutamate receptor that are active through an indirect metabotropic process. They are members of the group C family of G-protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs. Like all glutamate receptors, mGluRs bind with glutamate, an amino acid that functions as an excitatory neurotransmitter.

The iGluRs are divided into three subtypes according to the depolarizing action of the agonists, and these are α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA), N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), and kainic acid (KA). The other class consists of G-protein coupled receptors called metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). mGluRs belong to class C of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and are one of the best family of drug targets registered as therapeutic agents.

mGluR Subtypes

There are eight mGluR subtypes that have been identified, and these are further classified into three groups based on transduction mechanism, structural homology, and pharmacology: group I includes mGlu1 and mGlu5, group II includes mGlu2 and mGlu3, and group III consists of mGlu4, mGlu6, mGlu7, and mGlu8.