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Concept
Autoreceptor
Summary
An autoreceptor is a type of receptor located in the membranes of nerve cells. It serves as part of a negative feedback loop in signal transduction. It is only sensitive to the neurotransmitters or hormones released by the neuron on which the autoreceptor sits. Similarly, a heteroreceptor is sensitive to neurotransmitters and hormones that are not released by the cell on which it sits. A given receptor can act as either an autoreceptor or a heteroreceptor, depending upon the type of transmitter released by the cell on which it is embedded.
Autoreceptors may be located in any part of the cell membrane: in the dendrites, the cell body, the axon, or the axon terminals.
Canonically, a presynaptic neuron releases a neurotransmitter across a synaptic cleft to be detected by the receptors on a postsynaptic neuron. Autoreceptors on the presynaptic neuron will also detect this neurotransmitter and often function to control internal cell processes, typically inhibiting further release or synthesis of the neurotransmitter. Thus, release of neurotransmitter is regulated by negative feedback. Autoreceptors are usually G protein-coupled receptors (rather than transmitter-gated ion channels) and act via a second messenger.
As an example, norepinephrine released from sympathetic neurons may interact with the alpha-2A and alpha-2C adrenoreceptors to inhibit further release of norepinephrine. Similarly, acetylcholine released from parasympathetic neurons may interact with M2 and M4 receptors to inhibit further release of acetylcholine. An atypical example is given by the β-adrenergic autoreceptor in the sympathetic peripheral nervous system, which acts to increase transmitter release.
The D2sh autoreceptor has been shown recently to interact with the trace amine-assorted receptor 1 (TAAR1), a G-Coupled Protein Receptor GPCR, to regulate monoaminergic systems in the brain. Active TAAR1 opposes the autoreceptor's activity by inactivating the dopamine transporter (DAT).
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