Diagnostic Tests

CLINICAL ASSOCIATIONS

Mitogen’s Anti‐AMPA Receptor assay is an autoimmune diagnostic test that detects autoantibodies to glutamate receptor. AMPA receptor (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor) is a transmembrane receptor for glutamate – the body’s most prominent neurotransmitter, the brain’s main excitatory neurotransmitter, and also the precursor for GABA – the brain’s main inhibitory neurotransmitter. AMPA receptors are responsible for mediating fast synaptic transmission in the central nervous system, glutamate-mediated postsynaptic excitation of neural cells, and are critical for neural communication, memory formation, learning, and neuronal regulation. As such, they are not only found in many parts of the brain, but are the most commonly found receptor in the nervous system. Antibodies against the GluR1/GluR2 subunits of glutamate receptors (type AMPA) are found in patients with a special form of autoimmune-mediated limbic encephalitis (>90% women, average age 60).

Reference: Petroff OA (December 2002). “GABA and glutamate in the human brain”. Neuroscientist. 8 (6): 562–573. doi:10.1177/1073858402238515. PMID 12467378.