EXPRESSION OF NMDA 2B RECEPTOR SUBUNIT MESSENGER-RNA IN BERGMANN GLIA

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-activated glutamate receptor subunits are invariably expressed in neurons, although NMDA-activated currents have been recently described in Bergmann glia. To date, the NMDA receptor subunit 2B (NMDAR2B) was thought not to be expressed in adult cerebell um. In the present study we provide evidence, from in situ hybridizati on histochemistry, that Bergmann glial cells in rat brain express mRNA encoding the NMDAR2B subunit, most probably co-expressed with the ubi quitous NMDAR1 subunit, while transcripts for other NMDAR2 subunits (A ,C,D) were either not resolved or detected. Our findings suggest that Bergmann glial cells contain the molecular machinary to synthesize the NMDA receptor 2B subunit. The role of physiological NMDA receptors in the interaction between Bergmann glia and Purkinje neurons is not yet known. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.