On the Role of a Conserved Methionine in the Na⁺-Coupling Mechanism of a Neurotransmitter Transporter Homolog.

ABSTRACT: Excitatory amino acid transporters (EAAT) play a key role in glutamatergic synaptic communication. Driven by transmembrane cation gradients, these transporters catalyze the reuptake of glutamate from the synaptic cleft once this neurotransmitter has been utilized for signaling. Two decades ago, pioneering studies in the Kanner lab identified a conserved methionine within the transmembrane domain as key for substrate turnover rate and specificity; later structural work, particularly for the prokaryotic homologs Glt_Ph and Glt_Tk, revealed that this methionine is involved in the coordination of one of the three Na⁺ ions that are co-transported with the substrate. Albeit extremely atypical, the existence of this interaction is consistent with biophysical analyse

SUBMITTER: Zhou W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8431971 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature