使君子氨酸

使君子氨酸（）是一种AMPA受体、红藻氨酸受体和I型代谢型谷氨酸受体的激动剂，也是已知最强的AMPA受体激动剂Jin R, Horning M, Mayer ML, Gouaux E. Mechanism of activation and selectivity in a ligand-gated ion channel: structural and functional studies of GluR2 and quisqualate. Biochemistry. 2002 Dec 31;41(52):15635-43. Kuang D, Hampson DR. Ion dependence of ligand binding to metabotropic glutamate receptors. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 2006 Jun 23;345(1):1-6. Zhang W, Robert A, Vogensen SB, Howe JR. The relationship between agonist potency and AMPA receptor kinetics. Biophysical Journal. 2006 Aug 15;91(4):1336-46. 。由于它具有兴奋毒性，被广泛用于神经科学研究中，选择性地破坏大脑中的神经元或脊髓Muir JL, Page KJ, Sirinathsinghji DJ, Robbins TW, Everitt BJ. Excitotoxic lesions of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons: effects on learning, memory and attention. Behavioural Brain Research. 1993 Nov 30;57(2):123-31. Giovannelli L, Casamenti F, Pepeu G. C-fos expression in the rat nucleus basalis upon excitotoxic lesion with quisqualic acid: a study in adult and aged animals. Journal of Neural Transmission. 1998;105(8-9):935-48. Lee JW, Furmanski O, Castellanos DA, Daniels LA, Hama AT, Sagen J. Prolonged nociceptive responses to hind paw formalin injection in rats with a spinal cord injury. Neuroscience Letters. 2008 Jul 11;439(2):212-5. 。使君子氨酸存在于使君子科物种的种子中。
一项由美国农业部进行的研究显示，使君子氨酸也存在于天竺葵属的花瓣中，并能使其天敌甲壳虫神经系统瘫痪Geraniums and Begonias: New Research on Old Garden Favorites  (the March 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.)Ranger, C.M., Winter, R. E., Singh, A. P., Reding, M. E., Frantz, J. M., Locke, J. C., and Krause, C. R. 2011. Rare excitatory amino acid from flowers of zonal geranium responsible for paralyzing the Japanese beetle. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/12/29/1013497108.full.pdf+html。其作用机理为，使君子氨酸可被视为L-谷氨酸的类似物，可以作为昆虫神经肌肉结和哺乳动物中枢神经系统的神经递质。Usherwood, P. N. R. 1994. Insect glutamate receptors. Advances in Insect Biochemistry and Physiology. 24: 309-341.

 另见 

 奎可拉明
 非蛋白质氨基酸

 参考文献 

分類:α-胺基酸
分類:惊厥剂
分類:脲
分類:氨基甲酸酯
分類:内酰胺
分類:酰亚胺
分類:非蛋白氨基酸
分類:有毒氨基酸
分類:神经毒素