Vesicular Neurotransmitter Transporters as Targets for Endogenous and Exogenous Toxic Substances

Are vesicular neurotransmitter transporters potential treatment targets for temporal lobe epilepsy?

The vesicular neurotransmitter transporters (VNTs) are small proteins responsible for packing synaptic vesicles with neurotransmitters thereby determining the amount of neurotransmitter released per vesicle through fusion in both neurons and glial cells. Each transporter subtype was classically seen as a specific neuronal marker of the respective nerve cells containing that particular neurotran...

Vesicular neurotransmitter transporters: Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Molecular Analysis

The vesicular neurotransmitter transporters: current perspectives and future prospects.

There are three families of vesicular neurotransmitter transporters. The vesicular amine transporters (VATs) are members of the toxin-extruding protontranslocating antiporter family (TEXANs) (1). The vesicular inhibitory amino acid transporter (VIAAT/ VGAT) is a member of a second family with limited homology to plant amino acid permeases (2, 3). A vesicular transporter for the excitatory amino...

Vesicular neurotransmitter transporters: an approach for studying transporters with purified proteins.

Vesicular storage and subsequent release of neurotransmitters are the key processes of chemical signal transmission. In this process, vesicular neurotransmitter transporters are responsible for loading the signaling molecules. The use of a "clean biochemical" approach with purified, recombinant transporters has helped in the identification of novel vesicular neurotransmitter transporters and in...

Co-existence of Functionally Different Vesicular Neurotransmitter Transporters

The vesicular transmitter transporters VGLUT, VGAT, VMAT2 and VAChT, define phenotype and physiological properties of neuronal subtypes. VGLUTs concentrate the excitatory amino acid glutamate, VGAT the inhibitory amino acid GABA, VMAT2 monoamines, and VAChT acetylcholine (ACh) into synaptic vesicle (SV). Following membrane depolarization SV release their content into the synaptic cleft. A stric...