Monoamine transporters signaling termination

Fig. 1 General model of the release of vesicular neurotransmitter stores in response to cellular depolarization and the reuptake of the neurotransmitters by the monoamine transporters. Cytosolic neurotransmitters are taken into vesicles by VMAT and stored until the cell becomes depolarized, causing these vesicular stores to fuse with the plasma membrane and release the neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft. Neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft are available to bind pre- or postsynaptic receptors. Termination of signaling occurs when the neurotransmitters are taken back into the presynaptic cell by the monoamine transporters...

Neurons in the central nervous system communicate by chemical transmission. Of relevance to the present discussion are monoamine neurons that release dopamine, norepinephrine, or serotonin as one of their transmitters in response to an action potential. Reuptake transporter proteins embedded in the neuronal plasma membrane then clear the synapse of monoamines, typically taking up 70-80%) of the released transmitter. This reuptake is thought to be the major termination mechanism for the monoamine chemical signaling process. 

The principal mechanism for terminating dopamine signaling is reuptake by the presynaptic neuron via the dopamine transporter (DAT). Dopamine that is not taken up is metabolized by the enzymes monoamine oxidase (MAO) and catechol-O-methyl transferase... 

Synaptic transmission requires the release of neurotransmitters into the extracellular space to bind pre-or postsynaptic receptors, conveying a chemical message to nerve cells (Torres et al 2003a). Termination of this signaling occurs rapidly by uptake of the released neurotransmitter into the presynaptic cell by high-affinity neurotrans-mitter transporters. The clearance of the monoamines dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin occurs via the dopamine transporter (DAT), norepinephrine transporter (NET), and serotonin transporter (SERT), respectively (Torres et al., 2003a)... 

There are two principal mechanisms for increasing synaptic monoamine levels. One is to block the reuptake of neurotransmitter after its excitation-coupled release from the neuronal terminal. Thus, blocking the action of the uptake carrier protein prevents clearance of the neurotransmitter from the synapse, leaving high concentrations in the synaptic cleft that can continue to exert a signaling effect. This mechanism is the one invoked to explain the action of cocaine, a potent inhibitor of monoamine reuptake at the dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine transporters, and of methylphenidate, which is a reuptake inhibitor at the dopamine and norepinephrine transporters (81)It should be noted, however, that methylphenidate also has the ability to induce the release of catecholamines stored in neuronal vesicles (82, 83). 

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