Giros B, Caron M G
Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.
Trends Pharmacol Sci. 1993 Feb;14(2):43-9. doi: 10.1016/0165-6147(93)90029-j.
Neurotransmission, which represents chemical signalling between neurons, usually takes place at highly differentiated anatomical structures called synapses. To fulfill both the time and space confinements required for optimal neurotransmission, highly specialized proteins, known as transporters or uptake sites, occur and operate at the presynaptic plasma membrane. Using the energy provided by the Na+ gradient generated by the Na+/K(+)-transporting ATPase, these transporters reuptake the neurotransmitters soon after their release, thereby regulating their effective concentrations at the synaptic cleft and the availability of neurotransmitters for a time-dependent activation of both pre- and postsynaptic receptors. The key role these proteins play in normal neurotransmission is further emphasized when the physiological and social consequences of drugs that interfere with the function of these transporters, such as the psychostimulants (e.g. amphetamine and cocaine) or the widely prescribed antidepressant drugs, are considered. In this review, Bruno Giros and Marc Caron elaborate on the potential consequences of the recent molecular cloning of the dopamine and related transporters and summarize some of the interesting properties that are emerging from this growing family of Na(+)- and Cl(-)-dependent transporters.
神经传递代表神经元之间的化学信号传递，通常发生在称为突触的高度分化的解剖结构处。为了满足最佳神经传递所需的时间和空间限制，高度专业化的蛋白质，即转运体或摄取位点，出现在突触前质膜并在其上发挥作用。这些转运体利用由钠钾转运ATP酶产生的钠离子梯度提供的能量，在神经递质释放后不久重新摄取它们，从而调节其在突触间隙的有效浓度以及神经递质的可用性，以便对突触前和突触后受体进行时间依赖性激活。当考虑到干扰这些转运体功能的药物（如精神兴奋剂（如苯丙胺和可卡因）或广泛使用的抗抑郁药物）的生理和社会后果时，这些蛋白质在正常神经传递中所起的关键作用就更加凸显了。在这篇综述中，布鲁诺·吉罗斯和马克·卡隆阐述了多巴胺及相关转运体最近分子克隆的潜在后果，并总结了这个不断扩大的钠和氯依赖性转运体家族中出现的一些有趣特性。
