Skip to main content
Log in

Bioenergetics of Neurotransmitter Transport

  • Published:
Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Neurotransmitter transporters are essential components in the recycling of neurotransmitters released during neuronal activity. These transporters are the targets for important drugs affecting mood and behavior. They fall into at least four gene families, two encoding proteins in the plasma membrane and two in the synaptic vesicle membrane, although the known vesicular transporters have not all been cloned. Each of these transporters works by coupling the downhill movement of small ions such as Na+, Cl, K+, and H+ to the uphill transport of neurotransmitter. Plasma membrane transporters move the transmitter into the cytoplasm by cotransport with Na+. Many transporters also couple Cl cotransport to transmitter influx and these all belong to the NaCl-coupled family, although within the family the coupling stoichiometry can vary. Transporters for glutamate couple influx of this excitatory amino acid to Na+ and H+ influx and K+ efflux. Transporters in synaptic vesicles couple H+ efflux to neurotransmitter transport from the cytoplasm to the vesicle lumen.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Amara, S., and Kuhar, M. (1993). Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 16, 73-93.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arriza, J. L., Fairman, W. A., Wadiche, J. I., Murdoch, G. H., Kavanaugh, M. P., and Amara, S. G. (1994). J Neurosci. 14, 5559-5569.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Balkovetz, D. F., Tirruppathi, C., Leibach, F. H., Mahesh, V. B., and Ganapathy, V. (1989). J. Biol. Chem. 264, 2195-2198.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borowsky, B., and Hoffman, B. J. (1995). Int. Rev. Neurobiol. 38, 139-199.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bouvier, M., Szatkowski, M., Amato, A., and Attwell, D. (1992). Nature 360, 471-474.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, C. D., Bodmer, M., Biber, J., and Murer, H. (1984). Biochim. Biophys. Acta 769, 471-478.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burger, P. M., Mehl, E., Cameron, P. L., Maycox, P. R., Baumert, M., Lottspeich, F., De Camilli, P., and Jahn, R. (1989). Neuron 3, 715-720.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cammack, J. N., and Schwartz, E. A. (1996). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 723-727.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, A. J., and Reinhard, J. F. (1988). J. Biol. Chem. 263, 5034-5036.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Erickson, J., Varoqui, H., Schafer, M., Modi, W., Diebler, M., Weihe, E., Rand, J., Eiden, L., Bonner, T., and Usdin, T. (1994). J. Biol. Chem. 269, 21929-21932.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fairman, W. A., Vandenberg, R. J., Arriza, J. L., Kavanaugh, M. P., and Amara, S. G. (1995). Nature 375, 599-603.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fremeau, R., Caron, M., and Blakely, R. (1992). Neuron 8, 915-926.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galli, A., Blakely, R. D., and Defelice, L. J. (1996). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 8671-8676.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, H. H., Wall, S. C., and Rudnick, G. (1994). J. Biol. Chem. 269, 7124-7130.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, H. H., Wall, S., and Rudnick, G. (1996). J. Biol. Chem. 271, 6911-6916.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guimbal, C., and Kilimann, M. (1993). J. Biol. Chem. 268, 8418-8421.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harder, R., and Bonisch, H. (1985). J. Neurochem. 45, 1154-1162.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hell, J. W., Maycox, P. R., and Jahn, R. (1990). J. Biol. Chem. 265, 2111-2117.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hersch, S., Yi, H., Ciliax, B., and Levey, A. (1995). Soc. Neurosci., Abstracts 21, 781.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, B. J. (1994). Pharmacopsychiatry 27, 16-22.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holz, R. W. (1978). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75, 5190-5194.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Humphreys, C. J., Wall, S. C., and Rudnick, G. (1994). Biochemistry 33, 9118-9125.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. G., and Scarpa, A. (1979). J. Biol. Chem. 254, 3750-3760.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. G., Pfister, D., Carty, S. E., and Scarpa, A. (1979). J. Biol. Chem. 254, 10963-10972.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. G., Carty, S. E., and Scarpa, A. (1981). J. Biol. Chem. 256, 5773-5780.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jursky, F., Tamura, S., Tamura, A., Mandiyan, S., Nelson, H., and Nelson, N. (1994). J. Exp. Biol. 196, 283-295.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, B. I. (1978). Biochemistry 17, 1207-1211.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, B. (1993). FEBS Lett. 325, 95-99.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, B. I., and Bendahan, A. (1985). Biochim. Biophys. Acta 816, 403-410.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, B. I., and Kifer, L. (1981). Biochemistry 20, 3354-3358.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, B. I., and Sharon, I. (1978). Biochemistry 17, 3949-3953.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, B. I., Sharon, I., Maron, R., and Shculdiner, S. (1980). FEBS Lett. 111, 83-86.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, S. R., and Rudnick, G. (1982). J. Biol. Chem. 257, 1172-1176.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keynan, S., and Kanner, B. I. (1988). Biochemistry 27, 12-17.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kirschner, N. (1962). J. Biol. Chem. 237, 2311-2317.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knoth, J., Isaacs, J., and Njus, D. (1981a). J. Biol. Chem. 256, 6541-6543.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knoth, J., Zallakian, M., and Njus, D. (1981b). Biochemistry 20, 6625-6629.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kobold, G., Langer, R., and Burger, A. (1985). Nauyn-Schmiedegerg's Arch. Pharmacol. 331, 209-219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehre, K., Levy, L., Ottersen, O., Stormmathisen, J., and Danbolt, N. (1995). J. Neurosci. 15, 1835-1853.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lester, H. A., Cao, Y. W., and Mager, S. (1996). Neuron 17, 807-810.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, F., Lester, H. A., and Mager, S. (1996). Biophys. J. 71, 3126-3135.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lju, Y., Peter, D., Roghani, A., Schuldiner, S., Prive, G., Eisenberg, D., Brecha, N., and Edwards, R. (1992). Cell 70, 539-551.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mager, S., Min, C., Henry, D. J., Chavkin, C., Hoffman, B. J., Davidson, N., and Lester, H. A. (1994). Neuron 12, 845-859.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maycox, P. R., Deckwerth, T., Hell, J. W., and Jahn, R. (1988). J. Biol. Chem. 263, 15423-15428.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McIntire, S. L., Jorgensen, E., and Horvitz, H. R. (1993). Nature 364, 334-337.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, P. (1990). Res. Microbiol. 141, 286-289.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, N., and Lill, H. (1994). J. Exp. Biol. 196, 213-228.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, P. J., and Rudnick, G. (1979). J. Biol. Chem. 254, 10084-10089.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, P.J., and Rudnick, G. (1981). Biochemistry 20, 4246-4249.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, P. J., and Rudnick, G. (1982). J. Biol. Chem. 257, 6151-6155.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, P. J., Dean, G. E., Aronson, P. S., and Rudnick, G. (1983). Biochemistry 22, 5459-5463.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, M., and Parsons, S. (1995). J. Neurochem. 64, 1137-1142.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nirenberg, M. J., Vaughan, R. A., Uhl, G. R., Kuhar, M. J., and Pickel, V. M. (1996). J. Neurosci. 16, 436-447.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Njus, D., and Radda, G. K. (1979). Biochemistry 180, 579-585.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Reilly, C. A., and Reith, M. E. A. (1988). J. Biol. Chem. 263, 6115-6121.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peter, D., Jimenez, J., Liu, Y. J., Kim, J., and Edwards, R. H. (1994). J. Biol. Chem. 269, 7231-7237.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peter, D., Liu, Y. J., Sternini, C., Degiorgio, R., Brecha, N., and Edwards, R. H. (1995). J. Neurosci. 15, 6179-6188.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Picaud, S. A., Larsson, H. P., Grant, G. B., Lecar, H., and Werblin, F. S. (1995). J. Neurophysiol. 74, 1760-1771.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radian, R., and Kanner, B. I. (1983). Biochemistry 22, 1236-1241.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramamoorthy, S., Leibach, F. H., Mahesh, V. B., and Ganapathy, V. (1992). Am. J. Physiol. 262, C1189-C1196.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramamoorthy, S., Prasad, P., Kulanthaivel, P., Leibach, F. H., Blakely, R. D., and Ganapathy, V. (1993). Biochemistry 32, 1346-1353.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramu, A., Levine, M., and Pollard, H. (1983). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80, 2107-2111.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rudnick, G. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 2170-2174.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rudnick, G., and Clark, J. (1993). Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1144, 249-263.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rudnick, G., and Nelson, P. J. (1978) Biochem. 17, 4739-4742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rudnick, G., Steiner-Mordoch, S. S., Fishkes, H., Stern-Bach, Y., and Schuldiner, S. (1990). Biochemistry 29, 603-608.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scherman, D., and Henry, J.-P. (1981). Eur. J. Biochem. 116, 535-539.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schuldiner, S., Fishkes, H., and Kanner, B. I. (1978). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75, 3713-3716.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, K., Borden, L., Hartig, P., Branchek, T., and Weinshank, R. (1992). Neuron 8, 927-935.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sonders, M. S., and Amara, S. G. (1996). Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 6, 294-302.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sonders, M., Zhu, S., Zahniser, N., Kavanaugh, M., and Amara, S. (1997). J. Neurosci. 17, 960-974.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, W. D. (1967). The Movement of Molecules across Cell Membranes, Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Su, A., Mager, S., Mayo, S. L., and Lester, H. A. (1996). Biophys. J. 70, 762-777.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tabb, J., Kish, P., VanDyke, R., and Ueda, T. (1992). J. Biol. Chem. 267, 15412-15418.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uchida, S., Kwon, H., Yamauchi, A., Preston, A., Marumo, F., and Handler, J. (1992). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 8230-8234.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uhl, G., and Johnson, P. (1994). J. Exp. Biol. 196, 229-236.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Utsunomiyatate, N., Endou, H., and Kanai, Y. (1996). J. Biol. Chem. 271, 14883-14890.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Varoqui, H., and Erickson, J. D. (1996). J. Biol. Chem. 271, 27229-27232.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wadiche, J. I., Amara, S. G., and Kavanaugh, M. P. (1995). Neuron 15, 721-728.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zerangue, N., and Kavanaugh, M. P. (1996). Nature 383, 634-637.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rudnick, G. Bioenergetics of Neurotransmitter Transport. J Bioenerg Biomembr 30, 173–185 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020573325823

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020573325823

Navigation