title: GLT-1 transporter: an effective pharmacological target for various neurological disorders.
abstract: L-Glutamate is the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS) and is directly and indirectly involved in a variety of brain functions. Glutamate is released in the synaptic cleft at a particular concentration that further activates the various glutaminergic receptors. This concentration of glutamate in the synapse is maintained by either glutamine synthetase or excitatory amino acid proteins which reuptake the excessive glutamate from the synapse and named as excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs). Out of all the subtypes GLT-1 (glutamate transporter 1) is abundantly distributed in the CNS. Down-regulation of GLT-1 is reported in various neurological diseases such as, epilepsy, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and movement disorders. Therefore, positive modulators of GLT-1 which up-regulate the GLT-1 expression can serve as a potential target for the treatment of neurological disorders. GLT-1 translational activators such as ceftriaxone are found to have significant protective effects in ALS and epilepsy animal models, suggesting that this translational activation approach works well in rodents and that these compounds are worth further pursuit for various neurological disorders. This drug is currently in human clinical trials for ALS. In addition, a thorough understanding of the mechanisms underlying translational regulation of GLT-1, such as identifying the molecular targets of the compounds, signaling pathways involved in the regulation, and translational activation processes, is very important for this novel drug-development effort. This review mainly emphasizes the role of glutamate and its transporter, GLT-1 subtype in excitotoxicity. Further, recent reports on GLT-1 transporters for the treatment of various neurological diseases, including a summary of the presumed physiologic mechanisms behind the pharmacology of these disorders are also explained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, ISF College of Pharmacy, Moga 142001, Punjab, India.
authors.forename: Neha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Soni
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, ISF College of Pharmacy, Moga 142001, Punjab, India.
authors.forename: B V K
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, ISF College of Pharmacy, Moga 142001, Punjab, India. Electronic address: punnubansal79@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Puneet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage; D027342:Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 2; D050491:Glutamate Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D027342:Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 2; D050491:Glutamate Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; C493397:SLC1A2 protein, human; D018698:Glutamic Acid
keywords: Excitotoxicity; GLT-1; Glutamate; Neurological disorders