GLRA1 : glycine receptor alpha 1
Description
The GLRA1 (glycine receptor alpha 1) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 5.
The GLRA1 gene provides instructions for making one part, the alpha (α)1 subunit, of the glycine receptor protein. The glycine receptor is embedded in the membrane of nerve cells (neurons) in the spinal cord and the part of the brain that is connected to the spinal cord (the brainstem). The glycine receptor is made up of five subunits: two α1 subunits and three beta (β) subunits. The β subunit is produced from a different gene.Receptor proteins have specific sites into which certain other molecules, called ligands, fit like keys into locks. Together, ligands and their receptors trigger signals that affect cell development and function. The ligand for the glycine receptor is the protein building block (amino acid) glycine. This molecule also acts as a neurotransmitter, which is a chemical messenger that transmits signals in the nervous system.When glycine attaches (binds) to the glycine receptor, the receptor opens to allow negatively charged chlorine atoms (chloride ions) to enter the neuron. This influx of chloride ions reduces the neurons's ability to transmit signals to other neurons. Because they stop (inhibit) signaling, glycine receptors are known as inhibitory receptors.
Glycine receptors are ligand-gated chloride channels (PubMed:23994010, PubMed:25730860). Channel opening is triggered by extracellular glycine (PubMed:2155780, PubMed:7920629, PubMed:14551753, PubMed:16144831, PubMed:22715885, PubMed:22973015, PubMed:25973519, PubMed:9009272). Channel opening is also triggered by taurine and beta-alanine (PubMed:16144831, PubMed:9009272). Channel characteristics depend on the subunit composition; heteropentameric channels are activated by lower glycine levels and display faster desensitization (PubMed:14551753). Plays an important role in the down-regulation of neuronal excitability (PubMed:8298642, PubMed:9009272). Contributes to the generation of inhibitory postsynaptic currents (PubMed:25445488). Channel activity is potentiated by ethanol (PubMed:25973519). Potentiation of channel activity by intoxicating levels of ethanol contribute to the sedative effects of ethanol (By similarity). {ECO:0000250|UniProtKB:Q64018, ECO:0000269|PubMed:14551753, ECO:0000269|PubMed:16144831, ECO:0000269|PubMed:2155780, ECO:0000269|PubMed:22715885, ECO:0000269|PubMed:22973015, ECO:0000269|PubMed:23994010, ECO:0000269|PubMed:25445488, ECO:0000269|PubMed:25730860, ECO:0000269|PubMed:25973519, ECO:0000269|PubMed:7920629, ECO:0000269|PubMed:7925268, ECO:0000269|PubMed:9009272, ECO:0000305|PubMed:8298642}
GLRA1 is also known as HKPX1, STHE.
