The effect of high pressure on the NMDA receptor: molecular dynamics simulations.

ABSTRACT: Professional divers exposed to ambient pressures above 11 bar develop the high pressure neurological syndrome (HPNS), manifesting as central nervous system (CNS) hyperexcitability, motor disturbances, sensory impairment, and cognitive deficits. The glutamate-type N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) has been implicated in the CNS hyperexcitability of HPNS. NMDARs containing different subunits exhibited varying degrees of increased/decreased current at high pressure. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. We performed 100 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the NMDAR structure embedded in a dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) lipid bilayer solvated in water at 1 bar, hydrostatic 25 bar, and in helium at 25 bar. MD simulations showed that in contrast to hydrostatic p

SUBMITTER: Bliznyuk A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6658662 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature