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Glutamate transporters are a family of neurotransmitter transporter proteins that move glutamate – the principal excitatory neurotransmitter – across a membrane. The family of glutamate transporters is composed of two primary subclasses: the excitatory amino acid transporter ( EAAT ) family and vesicular glutamate transporter ( VGLUT ) family.
Glutamate is a very major constituent of a wide variety of proteins; consequently it is one of the most abundant amino acids in the human body. [1] Glutamate is formally classified as a non-essential amino acid, because it can be synthesized (in sufficient quantities for health) from α-ketoglutaric acid, which is produced as part of the citric acid cycle by a series of reactions whose ...
Glutamate is the most prominent neurotransmitter in the body, and is the main excitatory neurotransmitter, being present in over 50% of nervous tissue. [2] [3] Glutamate was initially discovered to be a neurotransmitter in insect studies in the early 1960s.
The gases are produced in the neural cytoplasm and are immediately diffused through the cell membrane into the extracellular fluid and into nearby cells to stimulate production of second messengers. Soluble gas neurotransmitters are difficult to study, as they act rapidly and are immediately broken down, existing for only a few seconds.
The basic structure and functions associated with the NMDA receptor can be attributed to the GluN2B subunit. For example, the glutamate binding site and the control of the Mg 2+ block are formed by the GluN2B subunit.
These levels are maintained via the recycling of glutamate molecules in the neuronal-glial cell process known as the glutamate–glutamine cycle, in which glutamate is synthesized from its precursor glutamine in a controlled manner in order to maintain an adequate supply of the neurotransmitter. [3]
EAAT1 functions in vivo as a homotrimer. [8] EAAT1 mediates the transport of glutamic and aspartic acid with the cotransport of three Na + and one H + cations and counter transport of one K + cation. This co-transport coupling (or symport) allows the transport of glutamate into cells against a concentration gradient. [9]
There is a high amount of glutamate in mammalian cells. Glutamate is necessary for excitatory signaling between neurons. The release must be highly organized, due to the large amounts of glutamate at the synaptic cleft, and the fact that it is released at high speeds. This mechanism of release at the synaptic cleft is partially controlled ...