NMDA receptors have been shown to contribute to glutamate-evoked currents in oligodendrocytes. Activation of these receptors damages myelin in ischaemia, in part because they are more weakly blocked by Mg(2+) than are most neuronal NMDA receptors. This weak Mg(2+) block was suggested to reflect an unusual subunit composition including the NR2C and NR3A subunits. Here we expressed NR1/NR2C and triplet NR1/NR2C/NR3A recombinant receptors in HEK cells and compared their currents with those of NMDA-evoked currents in rat cerebellar oligodendrocytes. NR1/NR2C/3A receptors were less blocked by 2 mM Mg(2+) than were NR1/NR2C receptors (the remaining current was 30% and 18%, respectively, of that seen without added Mg(2+)) and showed less channel noise, suggesting a smaller single channel conductance. NMDA-evoked currents in oligodendrocytes showed a Mg(2+) block (to 32%) similar to that observed for NR1/NR2C/NR3A and significantly different from that for NR1/NR2C receptors. Co-immunoprecipitation revealed interactions between NR1, NR2C and NR3A subunits in a purified myelin preparation from rat brain. These data are consistent with NMDA-evoked currents in oligodendrocytes reflecting the activation of receptors containing NR1, NR2C and NR3A subunits.