What is an antidepressant binding site doing in a bacterial transporter?
LeuT is a bacterial amino acid transporter belonging to a large family of membrane proteins, including the neurotransmitter transporters that are targets for antidepressant drugs. The high-resolution structure of LeuT has provided an important model for understanding structure and function in this family. Two recent papers found that LeuT can bind tricyclic antidepressants, raising the possibility that it may also serve as a model for the pharmacological properties of neurotransmitter transporters.
Rudnick
Gary
G
Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8066, USA. gary.rudnick@yale.edu
D026905:Amino Acid Transport Systems / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000378:metabolism*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D050480:Plasma Membrane Neurotransmitter Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation
D026905:Amino Acid Transport Systems; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D050480:Plasma Membrane Neurotransmitter Transport Proteins