The C-terminus of these receptors has important functions in modulating their activity. This region is important for G-protein coupling, post-translational modifications like phosphorylation as well as protein-protein interactions. The C-terminal region is also subject to alternative splicing. Indeed, mGluR7 can be detected as five different splice variants.nLike all group III metabotropic glutamate receptors, mGluR7 is localized presynaptically. It is highly expressed in the central nervous system and could also be detected in some peripheral organs like hair cells and spiral ganglion cells of the inner ear.nAs opposed to other group III metabotropic glutamate receptors, mGluR7 has very low affinity for its substrate L-glutamate, therefore, only under high synaptic activity is the receptor active. This enables the receptor to act as a negative feedback loop by inhibiting the release of L-glutamate.nmGluR7 may play a molecular role in the pathways leading to emotion and cognition.
