5-Iodowillardiine is a selective agonist for the

kainate receptor Kainate receptors, or kainic acid receptors (KARs), are ionotropic receptors that respond to the neurotransmitter glutamate. They were first identified as a distinct receptor type through their selective activation by the agonist kainate, a dru ...

, with only limited effects at the AMPA receptor. It is selective for kainate receptors composed of GluR5 subunits. It is an

excitotoxic In excitotoxicity, nerve cells suffer damage or death when the levels of otherwise necessary and safe neurotransmitters such as glutamate become pathologically high, resulting in excessive stimulation of receptors. For example, when glutamate re ...

neurotoxin ''in vivo'', but has proved highly useful for characterising the subtypes and function of the various kainate receptors in the

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...

and

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iodowillardiine, 5- Neurotoxins Kainate receptor agonists Pyrimidines Amino acid derivatives Iodoarenes