title: Multiple ionic conductances of the human dopamine transporter: the actions of dopamine and psychostimulants.
abstract: Electrophysiological and pharmacological studies of a cloned human dopamine transporter (hDAT) were undertaken to investigate the mechanisms of transporter function and the actions of drugs at this target. Using two-electrode voltage-clamp techniques with hDAT-expressing Xenopus laevis oocytes, we show that hDAT can be considered electrogenic by two criteria. (1) Uptake of hDAT substrates gives rise to a pharmacologically appropriate "transport-associated" current. (2) The velocity of DA uptake measured in oocytes clamped at various membrane potentials was voltage-dependent, increasing with hyperpolarization. Concurrent measurement of transport-associated current and substrate flux in individual oocytes revealed that charge movement during substrate translocation was greater than would be expected for a transport mechanism with fixed stoichiometry of 2 Na+ and 1 Cl- per DA+ molecule. In addition to the transport-associated current, hDAT also mediates a constitutive leak current, the voltage and ionic dependencies of which differ markedly from those of the transport-associated current. Ion substitution experiments suggest that alkali cations and protons are carried by the hDAT leak conductance. In contrast to the transport-associated functions, the leak does not require Na+ or Cl-, and DAT ligands readily interact with the transporter even in the absence of these ions. The currents that hDAT mediates provide a functional assay that readily distinguishes the modes of action of amphetamine-like "DA-releasing" drugs from cocaine-like translocation blockers. In addition, the voltage dependence of DA uptake suggests a mechanism through which presynaptic DA autoreceptor activation may accelerate the termination of dopaminergic neurotransmission in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland 97201, USA. sondersm@ohsu.edu
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sonders
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Zahniser
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Kavanaugh
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Amara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C493214:SLC6A3 protein, human; D004298:Dopamine