Molecular Biology of the Cell Call for Nominations: MBC Editor-in-Chief

Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

MBC in Press, published online ahead of print April 26, 2006
Mol. Biol. Cell 10.1091/mbc.E06-02-0155

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2006
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental Material
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
E06-02-0155v1
17/7/3021    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mullen, G. P.
Right arrow Articles by Rand, J. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mullen, G. P.
Right arrow Articles by Rand, J. B.

Submitted on February 24, 2006
Revised on April 10, 2006
Accepted on April 14, 2006

The Caenorhabditis elegans snf-11 Gene Encodes a Sodium-dependent GABA Transporter Required for Clearance of Synaptic GABA

Gregory P. Mullen,* Eleanor A. Mathews,* Paurush Saxena,{dagger} Stephen D. Fields,* John R. McManus,* Gary Moulder,* Robert J. Barstead,* Michael W. Quick,{dagger} and James B. Rand*

*Program in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK 73104; {dagger}Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2520

Monitoring Editor: Sandra Schmid

Sodium-dependent neurotransmitter transporters participate in the clearance and/or recycling of neurotransmitters from synaptic clefts. The snf-11 gene in C. elegans encodes a protein of high similarity to mammalian GABA transporters (GATs). We show here that snf-11 encodes a functional GABA transporter; SNF-11-mediated GABA transport is Na+- and Cl--dependent, has an EC50 of 168 µM, and is blocked by the GAT1 inhibitor SKF89976A. The SNF-11 protein is expressed in seven GABAergic neurons, several additional neurons in the head and retrovesicular ganglion, and three groups of muscle cells. Therefore, all GABAergic synapses are associated with either presynaptic or post-synaptic (or both) expression of SNF-11. Although a snf-11 null mutation has no obvious effects on GABAergic behaviors, it leads to resistance to inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase. In vivo, a snf-11 null mutation blocks GABA uptake in at least a subset of GABAergic cells; in a cell culture system, all GABA uptake is abolished by the snf-11 mutation. We conclude that GABA transport activity is not essential for normal GABAergic function in C. elegans; and the localization of SNF-11 is consistent with a GABA clearance function rather than recycling.

Address correspondence to: James B. Rand (James-Rand{at}omrf.ouhsc.edu)




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 GeneticsHome page
G. P. Mullen, E. A. Mathews, M. H. Vu, J. W. Hunter, D. L. Frisby, A. Duke, K. Grundahl, J. D. Osborne, J. A. Crowell, and J. B. Rand
Choline Transport and de novo Choline Synthesis Support Acetylcholine Biosynthesis in Caenorhabditis elegans Cholinergic Neurons
Genetics, September 1, 2007; 177(1): 195 - 204.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Exp. Biol.Home page
M. S. Thimgan, J. S. Berg, and A. E. Stuart
Comparative sequence analysis and tissue localization of members of the SLC6 family of transporters in adult Drosophila melanogaster
J. Exp. Biol., September 1, 2006; 209(17): 3383 - 3404.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
Copyright © 2006 by The American Society for Cell Biology. Terms of copyright protection, warranties, and disclaimers.