scholarly journals Ataxia-linked SLC1A3 mutations alter EAAT1 chloride channel activity and glial regulation of CNS function

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianyi Wu ◽  
Azman Akhter ◽  
Shashank Pant ◽  
Eunjoo Cho ◽  
Jin Xin Zhu ◽  
...  

Glutamate is the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Excitatory Amino Acid Transporters (EAATs) regulate extracellular glutamate by transporting it into cells, mostly glia, to terminate neurotransmission and to avoid neurotoxicity. EAATs are also chloride (Cl-) channels, but the physiological role of Cl- conductance through EAATs is poorly understood. Mutations of human EAAT1 (hEAAT1) have been identified in patients with episodic ataxia type 6 (EA6). One mutation showed increased Cl- channel activity and decreased glutamate transport, but the relative contributions of each function of hEAAT1 to mechanisms underlying the pathology of EA6 remain unclear. Here we investigated the effects of five additional EA6-related mutations on hEAAT1 function in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and on CNS function in a Drosophila melanogaster model of locomotor behavior. Our results indicate that mutations with decreased hEAAT1 Cl- channel activity and functional glutamate transport can also contribute to the pathology of EA6, highlighting the importance of Cl- homeostasis in glial cells for proper CNS function. We also identified a novel mechanism involving an ectopic sodium (Na+) leak conductance in glial cells. Together, these results strongly support the idea that EA6 is primarily an ion channelopathy of CNS glia.

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 1907-1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgitta C. Burckhardt ◽  
Gerhard Burckhardt

Background/Aims: Inborn deficiency of the N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS) impairs the urea cycle and causes neurotoxic hyperammonemia. Oral administration of N-carbamoylglutamate (NCG), a synthetic analog of N-acetylglutamate (NAG), successfully decreases plasma ammonia levels in the affected children. Due to structural similarities to glutamate, NCG may be absorbed in the intestine and taken up into the liver by excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs). Methods: Using Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing either human EAAT1, 2, or 3, or human sodium-dependent dicarboxylate transporter 3 (NaDC3), transport-associated currents of NAG, NCG, and related dicarboxylates were assayed. Results: L-aspartate and L-glutamate produced saturable inward currents with Km values below 30 µM. Whereas NCG induced a small inward current only in EAAT3 expressing oocytes, NAG was accepted by all EAATs. With EAAT3, the NAG-induced current was sodium-dependent and saturable (Km 409 µM). Oxaloacetate was found as an additional substrate of EAAT3. In NaDC3-expressing oocytes, all dicarboxylates induced much larger inward currents than did L-aspartate and L-glutamate. Conclusion: EAAT3 may contribute to intestinal absorption and hepatic uptake of NCG. With respect to transport of amino acids and dicarboxylates, EAAT3 and NaDC3 can complement each other.


2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (2) ◽  
pp. G366-G373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnès Mordrelle ◽  
Eric Jullian ◽  
Cyrille Costa ◽  
Estelle Cormet-Boyaka ◽  
Robert Benamouzig ◽  
...  

Little is known concerning the expression of amino acid transporters during intestinal epithelial cell differentiation. The transport mechanism ofl-glutamate and its regulation during the differentiation process were investigated using the human intestinal Caco-2 cell line. Kinetic studies demonstrated the presence of a single, high-affinity,d-aspartate-sensitive l-glutamate transport system in both confluent and fully differentiated Caco-2 cells. This transport was clearly Na+ dependent, with a Hill coefficient of 2.9 ± 0.3, suggesting a 3 Na+-to-1 glutamate stoichiometry and corresponding to the well-characterized XA,G − system. The excitatory amino acid transporter (EAAT)1 transcript was consistently expressed in the Caco-2 cell line, whereas the epithelial and neuronal EAAT3 transporter was barely detected. In contrast with systems B0 and y+, which have previously been reported to be downregulated when Caco-2 cells stop proliferating, l-glutamate transport capacity was found to increase steadily between day 8 and day 17. This increase was correlated with the level of EAAT1 mRNA, which might reflect an increase in EAAT1 gene transcription and/or stabilization of the EAAT1 transcript.


1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (6) ◽  
pp. C1609-C1618 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cuppoletti ◽  
A. M. Baker ◽  
D. H. Malinowska

HCl secretion across mammalian gastric parietal cell apical membrane may involve Cl- channels. H(+)-K(+)-ATPase-containing membranes isolated from gastric mucosa of histamine-stimulated rabbits were fused to planar lipid bilayers. Channels were recorded with symmetric 800 mM CsCl solutions, pH 7.4. A linear current-voltage (I-V) relationship was obtained, and conductance was 28 +/- 1 pS at 800 mM CsCl. Conductance was 6.9 +/- 2 pS at 150 mM CsCl. Reversal potential was +22 mV with a fivefold cis-trans CsCl concentration gradient, indicating that the channel was anion selective with a discrimination ratio of 6:1 for Cl- over Cs+. Anion selectivity of the channel was I- > Cl- > or = Br- > NO3-, and gluconate was impermeant. Channels obtained at pH 7.4 persisted when pH of medium bathing the trans side of the bilayer (pHtrans) was reduced to pH 3, without a change in conductance, linearity of I-V relationship, or ion selectivity. In contrast, asymmetric reduction of pH of medium bathing the cis side of the bilayer from 7.4 to 3 always resulted in loss of channel activity. At pH 7.4, open probability (Po) of the channel was voltage dependent, i.e., predominantly open at +80 mV but mainly closed at -80 mV. In contrast, with low pHtrans, channel Po at -80 mV was increased 3.5-fold. The Cl- channel was Ca2+ indifferent. In absence of ionophores, ion selectivity for support of H(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity and H+ transport was consistent with that exhibited by the channel and could be limited by substitution with NO3-, whereas maximal H(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity was indifferent to anion present, demonstrating that anion transport can be rate limiting. Cl- channels with similar characteristics (conductance, linear I-V relationship, and ion selectivity) were also present in H(+)-K(+)-ATPase-containing vesicles isolated from resting (cimetidine-treated) gastric mucosa, exhibiting at -80 mV a pH-independent approximately 3.5-fold lower Po than stimulated vesicle channels. At -80 mV, reduction of pHtrans increased Po of both resting and stimulated Cl- channels by five- to sixfold. Changing membrane potential from 0 to -80 mV across stimulated vesicles increased Cl- channel activity an additional 10-fold.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (4) ◽  
pp. F477-F480 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Hediger ◽  
T. C. Welbourne

The material covered in this set of articles was originally presented at Experimental Biology ’98, in San Francisco, CA, on April 20, 1998. Here, the participants recount important elements of current research on the role of glutamate transporter activity in cellular signaling, metabolism, and organ function. W. A. Fairman and S. G. Amara discuss the five subtypes of human excitatory amino acid transporters, with emphasis on the EAAT4 subtype. M. A. Hediger discusses the expression and action of EAAC1 subtype of the human excitatory amino acid transporter. I. Nissim provides an overview of the significant role of pH in regulating Gln/Glu metabolism in the kidney, liver, and brain. J. D. McGivan and B. Nicholson describe some characteristics of glutamate transport regulation with regard to a specific experimental model of the bovine renal epithelial cell line NBL-1. Finally, T. C. Welbourne and J. C. Matthews introduce the “functional unit” concept of glutamate transport and how this relates to both glutamine metabolism and paracellular permeability.


2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 1691-1702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Matott ◽  
Brian C. Ruyle ◽  
Eileen M. Hasser ◽  
David D. Kline

The nucleus tractus solitarii (nTS) is the initial central termination site for visceral afferents and is important for modulation and integration of multiple reflexes including cardiorespiratory reflexes. Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the nTS and is removed from the extracellular milieu by excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs). The goal of this study was to elucidate the role of EAATs in the nTS on basal synaptic and neuronal function and cardiorespiratory regulation. The majority of glutamate clearance in the central nervous system is believed to be mediated by astrocytic EAAT 1 and 2. We confirmed the presence of EAAT 1 and 2 within the nTS and their colocalization with astrocytic markers. EAAT blockade with dl- threo-β-benzyloxyaspartic acid (TBOA) produced a concentration-related depolarization, increased spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) frequency, and enhanced action potential discharge in nTS neurons. Solitary tract-evoked EPSCs were significantly reduced by EAAT blockade. Microinjection of TBOA into the nTS of anesthetized rats induced apneic, sympathoinhibitory, depressor, and bradycardic responses. These effects mimicked the response to microinjection of exogenous glutamate, and glutamate responses were enhanced by EAAT blockade. Together these data indicate that EAATs tonically restrain nTS excitability to modulate cardiorespiratory function.


2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katayun Cohen-Kashi-Malina ◽  
Itzik Cooper ◽  
Vivian I Teichberg

At high concentrations, glutamate (Glu) exerts potent neurotoxic properties, leading to irreversible brain damages found in numerous neurological disorders. The accepted notion that Glu homeostasis in brain interstitial fluid is maintained primarily through the activity of Glu transporters present on glial cells does not take into account the possible contribution of endothelial cells constituting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to this process. Here, we present evidence for the presence of the Glu transporters, excitatory amino-acid transporters (EAATs) 1 to 3, in porcine brain endothelial cells (PBECs) and show their participation in Glu uptake into PBECs. Moreover, transport of Glu across three in vitro models of the BBB is investigated for the first time, and evidence for Glu transport across the BBB in both directions is presented. Our results provide evidence that the BBB can function in the efflux mode to selectively remove Glu, via specific transporters, from the abluminal side (brain) into the luminal compartment (blood). Furthermore, we found that glial cells lining the BBB have an active role in the efflux process by taking up Glu and releasing it, through hemichannels, anion channels, and possibly the reversal of its EAATs, in close proximity to ECs, which in turn take up Glu and release it to the blood.


1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (4) ◽  
pp. C968-C976 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Morris ◽  
R. A. Frizzell

The patch-clamp technique was combined with camera-based intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) imaging to identify the single-channel basis of the Ca(2+)-dependent Cl- conductance in human colonic adenocarcinoma cells (HT-29). Cl- channels were activated when membrane patches were excised into solutions containing high (1 microM) Ca2+ concentrations. Their single-channel conductance, measured by amplitude histogram analysis, averaged 13 pS at -90 mV and 16 pS at +90 mV membrane potential (MP). In multiple channel patches, Cl- currents showed properties similar to Ca(2+)-activated whole cell currents: outward rectification and time-dependent activation at depolarizing MP. Channel activity disappeared shortly after patch excision from the cell. In cell-attached patches, Cl- channel opening was infrequent at resting [Ca2+]i values (96 +/- 18 nM), but when [Ca2+]i was increased by the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin (1 microM), Cl- channels were activated with a time course that paralleled the [Ca2+]i rise. Repetitive ionophore exposure produced equivalent rises in [Ca2+]i, but the corresponding Cl- channel activity became progressively reduced. The Ca(2+)-mediated agonist neurotensin (50 nM) elicited a transient Cl- channel activation that preceded the generalized cellular [Ca2+]i rise. Channel activation with neurotensin occurred in the absence of pipette Ca2+ but was abolished by preloading cells with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid. Thus, in response to the Ca(2+)-mediated agonist neurotensin, Cl- channel activation results from Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular pools localized within the vicinity of the plasma membrane. The Ca2+ dependency, voltage sensitivity, and kinetics of this 15-pS Cl- channel indicate that it is the basis of the whole cell Ca(2+)-activated Cl- current.


Author(s):  
Claudia Alleva ◽  
Jan-Philipp Machtens ◽  
Daniel Kortzak ◽  
Ingo Weyand ◽  
Christoph Fahlke

AbstractGlutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. After its release from presynaptic nerve terminals, glutamate is quickly removed from the synaptic cleft by excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) 1–5, a subfamily of glutamate transporters. The five proteins utilize a complex transport stoichiometry that couples glutamate transport to the symport of three Na+ ions and one H+ in exchange with one K+ to accumulate glutamate against up to 106-fold concentration gradients. They are also anion-selective channels that open and close during transitions along the glutamate transport cycle. EAATs belong to a larger family of secondary-active transporters, the SLC1 family, which also includes purely Na+- or H+-coupled prokaryotic transporters and Na+-dependent neutral amino acid exchangers. In recent years, molecular cloning, heterologous expression, cellular electrophysiology, fluorescence spectroscopy, structural approaches, and molecular simulations have uncovered the molecular mechanisms of coupled transport, substrate selectivity, and anion conduction in EAAT glutamate transporters. Here we review recent findings on EAAT transport mechanisms, with special emphasis on the highly conserved hairpin 2 gate, which has emerged as the central processing unit in many of these functions.


2022 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kovermann ◽  
Miriam Engels ◽  
Frank Müller ◽  
Christoph Fahlke

Excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) optimize the temporal resolution and energy demand of mammalian excitatory synapses by quickly removing glutamate from the synaptic cleft into surrounding neuronal and glial cells and ensuring low resting glutamate concentrations. In addition to secondary active glutamate transport, EAATs also function as anion channels. The channel function of these transporters is conserved in all homologs ranging from archaebacteria to mammals; however, its physiological roles are insufficiently understood. There are five human EAATs, which differ in their glutamate transport rates. Until recently the high-capacity transporters EAAT1, EAAT2, and EAAT3 were believed to conduct only negligible anion currents, with no obvious function in cell physiology. In contrast, the low-capacity glutamate transporters EAAT4 and EAAT5 are thought to regulate neuronal signaling as glutamate-gated channels. In recent years, new experimental approaches and novel animal models, together with the discovery of a human genetic disease caused by gain-of-function mutations in EAAT anion channels have enabled identification of the first physiological and pathophysiological roles of EAAT anion channels.


2006 ◽  
Vol 290 (5) ◽  
pp. C1334-C1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyu Fang ◽  
Yueming Huang ◽  
Zhiyi Zuo

Glutamate transporters (also called excitatory amino acid transporters, EAAT) are important in extracellular homeostasis of glutamate, a major excitatory neurotransmitter. EAAT4, a neuronally expressed EAAT in cerebellum, has a large portion (∼95% of the total l-aspartate-induced currents in human EAAT4) of substrate-gated Cl− currents, a distinct feature of this EAAT. We cloned EAAT4 from rat cerebellum. This molecule was predicted to have eight putative transmembrane domains. l-Glutamate induced an inward current in oocytes expressing this EAAT4 at a holding potential −60 mV. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), a protein kinase C (PKC) activator, significantly increased the magnitude of l-glutamate-induced currents but did not affect the apparent affinity of EAAT4 for l-glutamate. This PMA-enhanced current had a reversal potential −17 mV at extracellular Cl− concentration ([Cl−]o) 104 mM with an ∼60-mV shift per 10-fold change in [Cl−]o, properties consistent with Cl−-selective conductance. However, PMA did not change EAAT4 transport activity as measured by [3H]-l-glutamate. Thus PMA-enhanced Cl− currents via EAAT4 were not thermodynamically coupled to substrate transport. These PMA-enhanced Cl− currents were partially blocked by staurosporine, chelerythrine, and calphostin C, the three PKC inhibitors. Ro-31-8425, a PKC inhibitor that inhibits conventional PKC isozymes at low concentrations (nM level), partially inhibited the PMA-enhanced Cl− currents only at a high concentration (1 μM). Intracellular injection of BAPTA, a Ca2+-chelating agent, did not affect the PMA-enhanced Cl− currents. 4α-Phorbol-12,13-didecanoate, an inactive analog of PMA, did not enhance glutamate-induced currents. These data suggest that PKC, possibly isozymes other than conventional ones, modulates the substrate-gated Cl− currents via rat EAAT4. Our results also suggest that substrate-gated ion channel activity and glutamate transport activity, two EAAT4 properties that could modulate neuronal excitability, can be regulated independently.


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