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Why are there synthetic chemicals in our bodies? Where do they come from?


The probability of indirect human fertilization?How does a person get AIDS?What is inside IDL (intermediate density lipoproteïn)?Which of the three is true for insulin receptors?Where does the pain from headaches come fromWhere did H2 come from at pyruvate oxidation?What is the difference between neurotransmitters acting as neurotransmitters and hormones?Where does the initial action potential come from?Pyruvate oxidation - where did the hydrogen come from?Where do the lysines come from during ubiquitination?













3












$begingroup$


My specific question is in regards to NMDA.



On the wiki page for NMDA it says that NMDA is a synthetic substance that mimics glutamate. So why does the body not use glutamate instead of NMDA?



Also how is it possible that our body can produce something that is synthetic? I thought synthetic was man-made chemicals. Does that mean the NMDA receptors it binds to are also synthetic? How did this come to be?










share|improve this question









$endgroup$
















    3












    $begingroup$


    My specific question is in regards to NMDA.



    On the wiki page for NMDA it says that NMDA is a synthetic substance that mimics glutamate. So why does the body not use glutamate instead of NMDA?



    Also how is it possible that our body can produce something that is synthetic? I thought synthetic was man-made chemicals. Does that mean the NMDA receptors it binds to are also synthetic? How did this come to be?










    share|improve this question









    $endgroup$














      3












      3








      3





      $begingroup$


      My specific question is in regards to NMDA.



      On the wiki page for NMDA it says that NMDA is a synthetic substance that mimics glutamate. So why does the body not use glutamate instead of NMDA?



      Also how is it possible that our body can produce something that is synthetic? I thought synthetic was man-made chemicals. Does that mean the NMDA receptors it binds to are also synthetic? How did this come to be?










      share|improve this question









      $endgroup$




      My specific question is in regards to NMDA.



      On the wiki page for NMDA it says that NMDA is a synthetic substance that mimics glutamate. So why does the body not use glutamate instead of NMDA?



      Also how is it possible that our body can produce something that is synthetic? I thought synthetic was man-made chemicals. Does that mean the NMDA receptors it binds to are also synthetic? How did this come to be?







      human-biology biochemistry molecular-biology neurophysiology neurotransmitter






      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question











      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question










      asked 6 hours ago









      user3665690user3665690

      1047




      1047




















          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          4












          $begingroup$

          NMDA receptors are in fact glutamate receptors natively: there is no endogenous NMDA. They are named NMDA receptors because experimentally they were differentiated from other glutamate receptors using the compound NMDA. At first glutamate receptors were known as "NMDA" and "non-NMDA" glutamate receptors, and later the non-NMDA sort were found to be sensitive to AMPA or kainate and named thusly.



          Many other receptors are named this way: the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is the receptor that nicotine is an agonist at, but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine; muscarine is an agonist to the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine.




          Watkins, J. C., & Jane, D. E. (2006). The glutamate story. British journal of pharmacology, 147(S1), S100-S108.






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$












          • $begingroup$
            So does that mean the so called "NMDA" in our bodies is just a chemical scientists found that is similar to glutamate, and thus named it that way? I still don't understand why there is no endogenous NMDA, where does it come from in our bodies?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago






          • 4




            $begingroup$
            @user3665690 There are "NMDA receptors" in our body. There is not NMDA naturally in our body. "NMDA receptor" is just a name people gave to one of the receptors that normally binds glutamate. They could have called it something else, like the "slow glu receptor", or "Glutamate Receptor A", but they called it the NMDA receptor because they discovered it was different from other glutamate receptors in that it was activated by a chemical called NMDA in their experiments.
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            4 hours ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            I see! ok that makes a lot of sense now, so basically NMDA is a synthetic chemical that mimics glutamate induce NMDA receptor activity. Is that the right interpretation?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @user3665690 Yes that's correct
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            3 hours ago











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          1 Answer
          1






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          active

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          active

          oldest

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          4












          $begingroup$

          NMDA receptors are in fact glutamate receptors natively: there is no endogenous NMDA. They are named NMDA receptors because experimentally they were differentiated from other glutamate receptors using the compound NMDA. At first glutamate receptors were known as "NMDA" and "non-NMDA" glutamate receptors, and later the non-NMDA sort were found to be sensitive to AMPA or kainate and named thusly.



          Many other receptors are named this way: the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is the receptor that nicotine is an agonist at, but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine; muscarine is an agonist to the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine.




          Watkins, J. C., & Jane, D. E. (2006). The glutamate story. British journal of pharmacology, 147(S1), S100-S108.






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$












          • $begingroup$
            So does that mean the so called "NMDA" in our bodies is just a chemical scientists found that is similar to glutamate, and thus named it that way? I still don't understand why there is no endogenous NMDA, where does it come from in our bodies?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago






          • 4




            $begingroup$
            @user3665690 There are "NMDA receptors" in our body. There is not NMDA naturally in our body. "NMDA receptor" is just a name people gave to one of the receptors that normally binds glutamate. They could have called it something else, like the "slow glu receptor", or "Glutamate Receptor A", but they called it the NMDA receptor because they discovered it was different from other glutamate receptors in that it was activated by a chemical called NMDA in their experiments.
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            4 hours ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            I see! ok that makes a lot of sense now, so basically NMDA is a synthetic chemical that mimics glutamate induce NMDA receptor activity. Is that the right interpretation?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @user3665690 Yes that's correct
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            3 hours ago















          4












          $begingroup$

          NMDA receptors are in fact glutamate receptors natively: there is no endogenous NMDA. They are named NMDA receptors because experimentally they were differentiated from other glutamate receptors using the compound NMDA. At first glutamate receptors were known as "NMDA" and "non-NMDA" glutamate receptors, and later the non-NMDA sort were found to be sensitive to AMPA or kainate and named thusly.



          Many other receptors are named this way: the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is the receptor that nicotine is an agonist at, but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine; muscarine is an agonist to the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine.




          Watkins, J. C., & Jane, D. E. (2006). The glutamate story. British journal of pharmacology, 147(S1), S100-S108.






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$












          • $begingroup$
            So does that mean the so called "NMDA" in our bodies is just a chemical scientists found that is similar to glutamate, and thus named it that way? I still don't understand why there is no endogenous NMDA, where does it come from in our bodies?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago






          • 4




            $begingroup$
            @user3665690 There are "NMDA receptors" in our body. There is not NMDA naturally in our body. "NMDA receptor" is just a name people gave to one of the receptors that normally binds glutamate. They could have called it something else, like the "slow glu receptor", or "Glutamate Receptor A", but they called it the NMDA receptor because they discovered it was different from other glutamate receptors in that it was activated by a chemical called NMDA in their experiments.
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            4 hours ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            I see! ok that makes a lot of sense now, so basically NMDA is a synthetic chemical that mimics glutamate induce NMDA receptor activity. Is that the right interpretation?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @user3665690 Yes that's correct
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            3 hours ago













          4












          4








          4





          $begingroup$

          NMDA receptors are in fact glutamate receptors natively: there is no endogenous NMDA. They are named NMDA receptors because experimentally they were differentiated from other glutamate receptors using the compound NMDA. At first glutamate receptors were known as "NMDA" and "non-NMDA" glutamate receptors, and later the non-NMDA sort were found to be sensitive to AMPA or kainate and named thusly.



          Many other receptors are named this way: the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is the receptor that nicotine is an agonist at, but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine; muscarine is an agonist to the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine.




          Watkins, J. C., & Jane, D. E. (2006). The glutamate story. British journal of pharmacology, 147(S1), S100-S108.






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$



          NMDA receptors are in fact glutamate receptors natively: there is no endogenous NMDA. They are named NMDA receptors because experimentally they were differentiated from other glutamate receptors using the compound NMDA. At first glutamate receptors were known as "NMDA" and "non-NMDA" glutamate receptors, and later the non-NMDA sort were found to be sensitive to AMPA or kainate and named thusly.



          Many other receptors are named this way: the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is the receptor that nicotine is an agonist at, but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine; muscarine is an agonist to the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor but the endogenous ligand is acetylcholine.




          Watkins, J. C., & Jane, D. E. (2006). The glutamate story. British journal of pharmacology, 147(S1), S100-S108.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 6 hours ago

























          answered 6 hours ago









          Bryan KrauseBryan Krause

          19.9k33257




          19.9k33257











          • $begingroup$
            So does that mean the so called "NMDA" in our bodies is just a chemical scientists found that is similar to glutamate, and thus named it that way? I still don't understand why there is no endogenous NMDA, where does it come from in our bodies?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago






          • 4




            $begingroup$
            @user3665690 There are "NMDA receptors" in our body. There is not NMDA naturally in our body. "NMDA receptor" is just a name people gave to one of the receptors that normally binds glutamate. They could have called it something else, like the "slow glu receptor", or "Glutamate Receptor A", but they called it the NMDA receptor because they discovered it was different from other glutamate receptors in that it was activated by a chemical called NMDA in their experiments.
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            4 hours ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            I see! ok that makes a lot of sense now, so basically NMDA is a synthetic chemical that mimics glutamate induce NMDA receptor activity. Is that the right interpretation?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @user3665690 Yes that's correct
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            3 hours ago
















          • $begingroup$
            So does that mean the so called "NMDA" in our bodies is just a chemical scientists found that is similar to glutamate, and thus named it that way? I still don't understand why there is no endogenous NMDA, where does it come from in our bodies?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago






          • 4




            $begingroup$
            @user3665690 There are "NMDA receptors" in our body. There is not NMDA naturally in our body. "NMDA receptor" is just a name people gave to one of the receptors that normally binds glutamate. They could have called it something else, like the "slow glu receptor", or "Glutamate Receptor A", but they called it the NMDA receptor because they discovered it was different from other glutamate receptors in that it was activated by a chemical called NMDA in their experiments.
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            4 hours ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            I see! ok that makes a lot of sense now, so basically NMDA is a synthetic chemical that mimics glutamate induce NMDA receptor activity. Is that the right interpretation?
            $endgroup$
            – user3665690
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @user3665690 Yes that's correct
            $endgroup$
            – Bryan Krause
            3 hours ago















          $begingroup$
          So does that mean the so called "NMDA" in our bodies is just a chemical scientists found that is similar to glutamate, and thus named it that way? I still don't understand why there is no endogenous NMDA, where does it come from in our bodies?
          $endgroup$
          – user3665690
          4 hours ago




          $begingroup$
          So does that mean the so called "NMDA" in our bodies is just a chemical scientists found that is similar to glutamate, and thus named it that way? I still don't understand why there is no endogenous NMDA, where does it come from in our bodies?
          $endgroup$
          – user3665690
          4 hours ago




          4




          4




          $begingroup$
          @user3665690 There are "NMDA receptors" in our body. There is not NMDA naturally in our body. "NMDA receptor" is just a name people gave to one of the receptors that normally binds glutamate. They could have called it something else, like the "slow glu receptor", or "Glutamate Receptor A", but they called it the NMDA receptor because they discovered it was different from other glutamate receptors in that it was activated by a chemical called NMDA in their experiments.
          $endgroup$
          – Bryan Krause
          4 hours ago




          $begingroup$
          @user3665690 There are "NMDA receptors" in our body. There is not NMDA naturally in our body. "NMDA receptor" is just a name people gave to one of the receptors that normally binds glutamate. They could have called it something else, like the "slow glu receptor", or "Glutamate Receptor A", but they called it the NMDA receptor because they discovered it was different from other glutamate receptors in that it was activated by a chemical called NMDA in their experiments.
          $endgroup$
          – Bryan Krause
          4 hours ago




          1




          1




          $begingroup$
          I see! ok that makes a lot of sense now, so basically NMDA is a synthetic chemical that mimics glutamate induce NMDA receptor activity. Is that the right interpretation?
          $endgroup$
          – user3665690
          4 hours ago




          $begingroup$
          I see! ok that makes a lot of sense now, so basically NMDA is a synthetic chemical that mimics glutamate induce NMDA receptor activity. Is that the right interpretation?
          $endgroup$
          – user3665690
          4 hours ago












          $begingroup$
          @user3665690 Yes that's correct
          $endgroup$
          – Bryan Krause
          3 hours ago




          $begingroup$
          @user3665690 Yes that's correct
          $endgroup$
          – Bryan Krause
          3 hours ago

















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