title: Cloning and functional identification of a neuronal glutamine transporter.
abstract: Glutamine is the preferred precursor for the neurotransmitter pool of glutamate, the major excitatory transmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. We have isolated a complementary DNA clone (designated GlnT) encoding a plasma membrane glutamine transporter from glutamatergic neurons in culture, and its properties have been examined using the T7 vaccinia system in fibroblasts. When GlnT is transfected into CV-1 cells, L-glutamine is the preferred substrate. Transport is Na(+)-dependent and inhibited by alpha-methylaminoisobutyric acid, a specific inhibitor of neutral amino acid transport system A. Kinetic analysis of glutamine uptake by GlnT is saturable, with a Michaelis constant (K(m)) of 489 +/- 88 microM at pH 7.4. Glutamine uptake mediated by GlnT is pH-sensitive with a 5-fold greater efficiency of uptake at pH 8.2 than at pH 6.6. Only the maximal velocity of transport increases without a significant change in K(m). The distribution of GlnT mRNA and protein in the central nervous system is widespread and is expressed on neurons that use glutamate as their neurotransmitter. In cultured cerebellar granule cells, GlnT is expressed only on neurons and is absent from astrocytes. GlnT expression increases concomitantly with the morphologic and functional differentiation of these cells in vitro, consistent with its role of supplying glutamatergic neurons with their neurotransmitter precursor. GlnT is the first member of the system A family of neutral amino acid transporters with 11 putative membrane-spanning domains and is a potential target to modulate presynaptic glutamatergic function.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Varoqui
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ming
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Erickson
mesh_terms: D026923:Amino Acid Transport Systems, Basic; D000621:Aminoisobutyric Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007700:Kinetics; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D026923:Amino Acid Transport Systems, Basic; D000621:Aminoisobutyric Acids; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C077738:sodium-dependent glutamine transporter; C017911:2-(methylamino)isobutyric acid