γ-Aminobutyric Acid and Glycine Neurotransmitter Transporters

Author(s)
Petrine Wellendorph, Julie Jacobsen, Jonas Skovgaard-Petersen, Andreas Jurik, Stine B. Vogensen, Gerhard Ecker, Arne Schousboe, Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen, Rasmus P. Clausen
Abstract

This chapter reviews the superfamily 6 of solute carriers (SLC6) subclasses of neurotransmitter transporters that recognize ?-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and Gly, with respect to their neuropharmacology, substrate/inhibitor preferences, structure-activity relationships, and therapeutic potential. A requirement for proper control of receptor activity and hence neuronal excitability is a tight regulation of the amount of extracellular neurotransmitter available. Here, GABA transporters (GATs) and Gly transporters (GLYTs) come into play. The small amino acids GABA and Gly are the major inhibitory neurotransmitters in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). In terms of structure-function studies, the primary focus until now has been GAT1 and its selective inhibitor tiagabine. While intense efforts to develop bulky 4,4- diphenyl-3-butenyl (DPB)-related compounds were ongoing in the 1990s, the major GABA transporter subtypes were cloned, and it was realized that a majority of the potent lipophilic aromatic inhibitors derived from guvacine and nipecotic acid had a clear preference for GAT1.

Organisation(s)
External organisation(s)
Copenhagen University Hospital, University of Copenhagen
Pages
69-106
No. of pages
38
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527679430.ch4
Publication date
01-2017
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
301207 Pharmaceutical chemistry
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
General Medicine, General Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics, General Chemistry
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/378dab3c-96e3-4378-b78a-b38985c81c61