Cover Illustration: The 3D reconstruction of super-resolution immunofluorescent confocal image shows that glutamate transporter 1 (GLT1; green)-labeled astrocytic processes enwrap neurons labeled by microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2, red; nuclei, blue) in primary mouse cortical glia-neuron mix culture. close proximity MAP2-GLT1 indicates the neuron-astrocyte interaction for maintaining hom...

The amino acid L-glutamate mediates signals at excitatory synapses in the CNS where its effects are controlled by co-ordinated activities of various types of glutamate receptor and transporter. This signalling mechanism has proved to be far more ubiquitous with many different cell types responding to glutamate. The glutamate transporter GLAST-1 was the first component of this pathway identified...

Bilirubin, a product of haemoglobin metabolism, has been suggested to damage neurons by increasing activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors when it reaches high levels in the blood [15,19], as occurs in neonatal jaundice [7]. Bilirubin is also generated in the brain following synthesis of the messenger carbon monoxide (CO) by haem oxygenase, and haem oxygenase is upregulated in Alzhe...

Glutamate uptake by astrocytes is fundamentally important in the regulation of CNS function. Disruption of uptake can lead to excitotoxicity and is implicated in various neurodegenerative processes as well as a consequence of hypoxic/ischemic events. Here, we investigate the effect of hypoxia on activity and expression of the key glutamate transporters excitatory amino acid transporter 1 (EAAT1...

Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the retina and brain, but it may also exert excitotoxic harmful effects on cells, a phenomenon related to retinal diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. An excess of extracellular glutamate may activate an excitotoxic reaction cascade via its synaptic receptors. Efficient glutamate transport is crucial in keeping extracellular gl...

Bai, Liqun, Xiaohong Zhang, and Fayez K. Ghishan. Characterization of vesicular glutamate transporter in pancreatic and -cells and its regulation by glucose. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 284: G808–G814, 2003. First published November 20, 2002; 10.1152/ajpgi.00333. 2002.—Glutamate has been suggested to play an important role in the release of insulin and glucagon from pancreatic cells...

Oestrous cycle and sex differences in sodium-dependent transport of L-[3H]glutamate and L-[3H]aspartate were investigated employing well washed synaptosomes prepared from rat brain cortex. Transport was best analysed on the basis of two components, a high and low affinity transport site. Oestrous cycle and sex differences were observed for both substrates. The high affinity transporter displaye...

Glutamate transport across the plasma membrane of neurons and glia is powered by the transmembrane electrochemical gradients for sodium, potassium, and pH, but there is controversy over the number of Na+ cotransported with glutamate. The stoichiometry of glutamate transporters is important because it determines a lower limit to the extracellular glutamate concentration, [glu]o, in both normal a...