Fast excitatory neurotransmission in the mammalian central nervous system is largely carried out by AMPA-sensitive ionotropic glutamate receptors. Localized within the postsynaptic density of glutamatergic spines, AMPA receptors are composed of heterotetrameric receptor assemblies associated with auxiliary subunits, the most common of which are transmembrane AMPA-receptor regulatory proteins (TARPs). The association of TARPs with AMPA receptors modulates the kinetics of receptor gating and pharmacology, as well as trafficking. Here we report the cryo-EM structure of the homomeric GluA2 AMPA receptor saturated with TARP γ2 subunits, showing how the TARPs are arranged with four-fold symmetry around the ion channel domain, making extensive interactions with the M1, M2 and M4 TM helices. Poised like partially opened ‘hands’ underneath the two-fold symmetric ligand binding domain (LBD) ‘clamshells’, one pair of TARPs are juxtaposed near the LBD dimer interface, while the other pair is near the LBD dimer-dimer interface. The extracellular ‘domains’ of TARP are positioned to not only modulate LBD ‘clamshell’ closure, but also to affect conformational rearrangements of the LBD layer associated with receptor activation and desensitization, while the TARP transmembrane (TM) domains buttress the ion channel pore.

Glutamate-gated AMPA receptors mediate the fast component of excitatory signal transduction at chemical synapses throughout all regions of the mammalian brain. AMPA receptors are tetrameric assemblies composed of four subunits, GluA1–GluA4. Despite decades of study, the subunit composition, subunit arrangement, and molecular structure of native AMPA receptors remain unknown. Here we elucidate the structures of 10 distinct native AMPA receptor complexes by single-particle cryo–electron microscopy (cryo-EM). We find that receptor subunits are arranged nonstochastically, with the GluA2 subunit preferentially occupying the B and D positions of the tetramer and with triheteromeric assemblies comprising a major population of native AMPA receptors. Cryo-EM maps define the structure for S2-M4 linkers between the ligand-binding and transmembrane domains, suggesting how neurotransmitter binding is coupled to ion channel gating.

Summary AMPA receptors mediate fast excitatory neurotransmission in the mammalian brain and transduce the binding of presynaptically released glutamate to the opening of a transmembrane cation channel. Within the postsynaptic density, however, AMPA receptors coassemble with transmembrane AMPA receptor regulatory proteins (TARPs), yielding a receptor complex with altered gating kinetics, pharmacology and pore properties. Here we elucidate structures of the GluA2-TARP γ2 complex in the presence of the partial agonist kainate or the full agonist quisqualate together with a positive allosteric modulator, or with quisqualate alone. We show how TARPs sculpt the ligand binding domain gating ring, enhancing kainate potency and diminishing the ensemble of desensitized states. TARPs encircle the receptor ion channel, stabilizing M2 helices and pore loops, illustrating how TARPs alter receptor pore properties. Structural and computational analysis suggests the full agonist/modulator complex harbors an ion-permeable channel gate, providing the first view of an activated AMPA receptor.