title: [Axolemmal transporters for neurotransmitter uptake].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Neurotransmission is a fundamental process in interneuronal communication. It starts with the release of the neurotransmitter following a nerve impulse and ends either by uptake by specific specific transporters or by metabolization to an inactive compound. In this review we will consider the molecular, ion dependence and electrogenic properties of the axolemal transporters for neurotransmitters and also the pathological consequences of their impairment as well as the drugs that can interact with them.
  
  
  METHODS
  Most axolemmal transporters have been cloned and grouped into two large families according to their molecular characteristics and electrogenic properties: 1. Those dependent on Na+/Cl- include transporters of GABA, noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, choline, proline, betaine, glycine and taurine, and 2. Those dependent on Na+/K+, which include the transporters of glutamate, alanine, serine and cysteine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clonation of transporters has permitted (and will continue to permit) the correlation of molecular alterations of transporters with different neuro-degenerative disorders (e.g. multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease), with brain lesions (e.g. cerebral ischemia, status epilepticus) and with psychiatric alterations (e.g. schizophrenia, depression). In this respect, chemical synthesis of new selective drugs which interact with the different systems for uptake of neurotransmitters will offer new approaches to the treatment of many disorders of the central nervous system which still have no satisfactory drug treatment.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Farmacología Teófilo Hernando, Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, España. manuela.garcia@uam.es
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García-López
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D011188:Potassium