Papers of the Week

Much is understood about the structure and gating properties of NMDA receptors (NMDAR), but the function of the carboxy-terminal splice variant of the NR1 subunit, NR1 has never been identified. By studying the scaffolding protein Magi-2 in animal models of inflammatory pain, we discovered how NR1 protein is specifically regulated. We found that Magi-2 deficiency resulted in decreased pain behavior and a concomitant reduction in NR1 protein. Magi-2 contains WW domains, domains typically found in ubiquitin ligases. We identified an atypical WW-binding domain within NR1 which conferred susceptibility to Nedd4-1 ubiquitin-ligase dependent degradation. We used lipidated peptidomimetics derived from the NR1 sequence and found that NR1 protein levels and pain behavior can be pharmacologically targeted. The function of NR1 is to give lability to a pool of NMDAR, important for pain signaling.