Solute carrier family 1, member 1 (SLC1A1; also known as EAAT3 and EAAC1) is the major epithelial transporter of glutamate and aspartate in the kidneys and intestines of rodents. Within the brain, SLC1A1 serves as the predominant neuronal glutamate transporter and buffers the synaptic release of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate within the interneuronal synaptic cleft. Recent studies ha...

Alcohol dependence is associated with alteration of glutamate transport and glutamate neurotransmission. Glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1) is a major transporter that regulates the majority of extracellular glutamate concentration, which is also regulated by cystine-glutamate exchanger (xCT). Importantly, we recently reported that amoxicillin and Augmentin (amoxicillin/clavulanate) upreglulated G...

Elevated levels of extracellular glutamate ([Glu](o)) can induce seizures and cause excitotoxic neuronal cell death. This is normally prevented by astrocytic glutamate uptake. Neoplastic transformation of human astrocytes causes malignant gliomas, which are often associated with seizures and neuronal necrosis. Here, we show that Na(+)-dependent glutamate uptake in glioma cell lines derived from...

bstract—Although multiple effects of GABAB receptor actiation on synaptic transmission in the striatum have been escribed, the precise locations of the receptors mediating hese effects have not been determined. To address this ssue, we carried out pre-embedding immunogold electron icroscopy in the rat using antibodies against the GABAB eceptor subunits, GABAB1 and GABAB2. In addition, to inesti...

The neurotransmitter glutamate is released by excitatory projection neurons throughout the brain. However, non-glutamatergic cells, including cholinergic and monoaminergic neurons, express markers that suggest that they are also capable of vesicular glutamate release. Striatal cholinergic interneurons (CINs) express the Type-3 vesicular glutamate transporter (VGluT3), although whether they form...

Although a glutamate-gated chloride conductance with the properties of a sodium-dependent glutamate transporter has been described in vertebrate retinal photoreceptors and bipolar cells, the molecular species underlying this conductance has not yet been identified. We now report the cloning and functional characterization of a human excitatory amino acid transporter, EAAT5, expressed primarily ...

Excitotoxicity has been implicated in the retinal neuronal loss in several ocular pathologies including glaucoma. Dysfunction of Excitatory Amino Acid Transporters is often a key component of the cascade leading to excitotoxic cell death. In the retina, glutamate transport is mainly operated by the glial glutamate transporter GLAST and the neuronal transporter GLT-1. In this study we evaluated ...

Lafora disease (LD, OMIM 254780) is a fatal rare disorder characterized by epilepsy and neurodegeneration. Although in recent years a lot of information has been gained on the molecular basis of the neurodegeneration that accompanies LD, the molecular basis of epilepsy is poorly understood. Here, we present evidence indicating that the homeostasis of glutamate transporter GLT-1 (EAAT2) is compr...

Retinal bipolar neurons release the excitatory transmitter, glutamate. However, certain bipolar cells contain GABA, raising the question whether a neuron might release both transmitters and, if so, what function might the inhibitory transmitter play in a particular circuit? Here we identify a subset of cone bipolar cells in cat retina that contain glutamate, plus its vesicular transporter (VGLU...

Following the onset of an ischemic brain injury, the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate is released. The excitotoxic effects of glutamate are a major contributor to the pathogenesis of a stroke. The aim of this study was to examine if overexpression of a glutamate transporter (GLT-1) reduces ischemic brain injury in a rat model of stroke. We generated an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector e...