title: Dopamine transporters and neuronal injury.
abstract: The plasma membrane dopamine transporter (DAT) and the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2) are essential for normal dopamine neurotransmission. DAT terminates the actions of dopamine by rapidly removing dopamine from the synapse, whereas VMAT2 loads cytoplasmic dopamine into vesicles for storage and subsequent release. Recent data suggest that perturbation of the tightly regulated balance between these two transporters predisposes the neurone to damage by a variety of insults. Most notable is the selective degeneration of DAT- and VMAT2-expressing dopamine nerve terminals in the striatum thought to underlie Parkinson's disease. DAT and VMAT2 expression can predict the selective vulnerability of neuronal populations, which suggests that therapeutic strategies aimed at altering DAT and VMAT2 function could have significant benefits in a variety of disorders.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA. gwmiller@mail.utexas.edu
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Gainetdinov
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Levey
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Caron
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009479:Neuropeptides; D050492:Vesicular Biogenic Amine Transport Proteins; D050493:Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; C493452:SLC18A2 protein, human; C493214:SLC6A3 protein, human; D050492:Vesicular Biogenic Amine Transport Proteins; D050493:Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins; D004298:Dopamine