1. Vesicular GABA transporter ( VGAT) transports β-alanine.
- Author
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Juge, Narinobu, Omote, Hiroshi, and Moriyama, Yoshinori
- Subjects
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GABA transporters , *ALANINE , *GLYCINE agents , *GABA agents , *EXOCYTOSIS , *NEURONS , *THERAPEUTICS - Abstract
Vesicular GABA transporter ( VGAT) is expressed in GABAergic and glycinergic neurons, and is responsible for vesicular storage and subsequent exocytosis of these inhibitory amino acids. In this study, we show that VGAT recognizes β-alanine as a substrate. Proteoliposomes containing purified VGAT transport β-alanine using Δψ but not ΔpH as a driving force. The Δψ-driven β-alanine uptake requires Cl−. VGAT also facilitates Cl− uptake in the presence of β-alanine. A previously described VGAT mutant (Glu213Ala) that disrupts GABA and glycine transport similarly abrogates β-alanine uptake. These findings indicated that VGAT transports β-alanine through a mechanism similar to those for GABA and glycine, and functions as a vesicular β-alanine transporter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
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