title: Monoamine transporters: vulnerable and vital doorkeepers.
abstract: Transporters of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine have been empirically used as medication targets for several mental illnesses in the last decades. These protein-targeted medications are effective only for subpopulations of patients with transporter-related brain disorders. Since the cDNA clonings in early 1990s, molecular studies of these transporters have revealed a wealth of information about the transporters' structure-activity relationship (SAR), neuropharmacology, cell biology, biochemistry, pharmacogenetics, and the diseases related to the human genes encoding these transporters among related regulators. Such new information creates a unique opportunity to develop transporter-specific medications based on SAR, mRNA, DNA, and perhaps transporter trafficking regulation for a number of highly relevant diseases including substance abuse, depression, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Zhicheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Canales
authors.forename: Thröstur
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Björgvinsson
authors.forename: Morgane
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thomsen
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Qing-Rong
authors.initials: QR
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Gonzalo E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: S Barak
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Caine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001519:Behavior; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins