Department of Biology, SUNY Albany Albany, NY, USA.
Front Cell Neurosci. 2014 Jun 17;8:161. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2014.00161. eCollection 2014.
GABA transporters belong to a large family of neurotransmitter:sodium symporters. They are widely expressed throughout the brain, with different levels of expression in different brain regions. GABA transporters are present in neurons and in astrocytes and their activity is crucial to regulate the extracellular concentration of GABA under basal conditions and during ongoing synaptic events. Numerous efforts have been devoted to determine the structural and functional properties of GABA transporters. There is also evidence that the expression of GABA transporters on the cell membrane and their lateral mobility can be modulated by different intracellular signaling cascades. The strength of individual synaptic contacts and the activity of entire neuronal networks may be finely tuned by altering the density, distribution and diffusion rate of GABA transporters within the cell membrane. These findings are intriguing because they suggest the existence of complex regulatory systems that control the plasticity of GABAergic transmission in the brain. Here we review the current knowledge on the structural and functional properties of GABA transporters and highlight the molecular mechanisms that alter the expression and mobility of GABA transporters at central synapses.
GABA 转运体属于神经递质：钠离子转运体的大家族。它们在大脑中广泛表达，在不同的脑区表达水平不同。GABA 转运体存在于神经元和星形胶质细胞中，其活性对于调节基础条件下和持续突触事件中外周 GABA 的浓度至关重要。人们已经做出了许多努力来确定 GABA 转运体的结构和功能特性。还有证据表明，细胞膜上 GABA 转运体的表达及其侧向流动性可以通过不同的细胞内信号级联来调节。通过改变细胞膜内 GABA 转运体的密度、分布和扩散速率，可以精细调节单个突触接触的强度和整个神经网络的活性。这些发现令人着迷，因为它们表明存在复杂的调节系统，可控制大脑中 GABA 能传递的可塑性。在这里，我们回顾了 GABA 转运体的结构和功能特性的最新知识，并强调了改变中枢突触 GABA 转运体表达和流动性的分子机制。
