| ID | Sequence | Length | GC content |
|---|---|---|---|
| AGCUCAGCCCCCUCAGCCCAGAGAUCAGCCACAAGUGCGGCCGCUGUGC… | 3704 nt | 0.4571 | |
| AGUAAAGAGGUUCAGAAAAGAGGGAGACUUUACCCGGAACUCCCAAGGC… | 3873 nt | 0.4534 | |
| AGCUCAGCCCCCUCAGCCCAGAGAUCAGCCACAAGUGCGGCCGCUGUGC… | 3808 nt | 0.4567 | |
| GCGCUCGGCGCUCUGACUGGGCGUGCGGCGGCAGGAUUUUAAAGCGCUC… | 3686 nt | 0.4523 | |
| AGCUCAGCCCCCUCAGCCCAGAGAUCAGCCACAAGUGCGGCCGCUGUGC… | 3759 nt | 0.4570 | |
| GCGCUCGGCGCUCUGACUGGGCGUGCGGCGGCAGGAUUUUAAAGCGCUC… | 3723 nt | 0.4507 | |
| AGCUCAGCCCCCUCAGCCCAGAGAUCAGCCACAAGUGCGGCCGCUGUGC… | 2883 nt | 0.4527 |
L-glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and activates both ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors. Glutamatergic neurotransmission is involved in most aspects of normal brain function and can be perturbed in many neuropathologic conditions. The metabotropic glutamate receptors are a family of G protein-coupled receptors, that have been divided into 3 groups on the basis of sequence homology, putative signal transduction mechanisms, and pharmacologic properties. Group I includes GRM1 and GRM5 and these receptors have been shown to activate phospholipase C. Group II includes GRM2 and GRM3 while Group III includes GRM4, GRM6, GRM7 and GRM8. Group II and III receptors are linked to the inhibition of the cyclic AMP cascade but differ in their agonist selectivities. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
A study in humans demonstrated that the GRM8 gene, encoding a metabotropic glutamate receptor subunit, was up-regulated in the hippocampus of alcoholics relative to controls and cocaine addicts [Enoch et al. DOI:10.1111/Gbb.12179]. In mice, cocaine conditioning induced up-regulation of the GRM8 mRNA in the nucleus accumbens [Bu et al. DOI:10.1111/Jnc.12006]. A study in rats demonstrated that repeated amphetamine administration induced a profound and long-lasting upregulation of the GRM8 mRNA in the forebrain, with significant increases observed in the dorsal and ventral striatum (349-553% and 413-435%, respectively) and cerebral cortex at 1 and 21 days post-treatment [Parelkar & Wang DOI:10.1016/J.Neulet.2008.01.015].