Work

A current view of serotonin transporters

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Serotonin transporters (SERTs) are largely recognized for one aspect of their function-to transport serotonin back into the presynaptic terminal after its release. Another aspect of their function, however, may be to generate currents large enough to have physiological consequences. The standard model for electrogenic transport is the alternating access model, in which serotonin is transported with a fixed ratio of co-transported ions resulting in net charge per cycle. The alternating access model, however, cannot account for all the observed currents through SERT or other monoamine transporters. Furthermore, SERT agonists like ecstasy or antagonists like fluoxetine generate or suppress currents that the standard model cannot support. Here we survey evidence for a channel mode of transport in which transmitters and ions move through a pore. Available structures for dopamine and serotonin transporters, however, provide no evidence for a pore conformation, raising questions of whether the proposed channel mode actually exists or whether the structural data are perhaps missing a transient open state.

Source: F1000Research

DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.8384.1

Author: Louis J. De Felice

Institution: Virginia Commonwealth University

Language: English

Topic: Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,350

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse