Molecular Basis of Coupled Transport and Anion Conduction in Excitatory Amino Acid Transporters.

Glutamate 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.

Amino Acid Transporters and Exchangers from the SLC1A Family: Structure, Mechanism and Roles in Physiology and Cancer.

The Solute Carrier 1A (SLC1A) family includes two major mammalian transport systems-the alanine serine cysteine transporters (ASCT1-2) and the human glutamate transporters otherwise known as the excitatory amino acid transporters (EAAT1-5). The EAATs play a critical role in maintaining low synaptic concentrations of the major excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, and hence they have been widely researched over a number of years. More recently, the neutral amino acid exchanger, ASCT2 has garnered attention for its important role in cancer biology and potential as a molecular target for cancer therapy. The nature of this role is still being explored, and several classes of ASCT2 inhibitors have been developed. However none have reached sufficient potency or selectivity for clinical use. Despite their distinct functions in biology, the members of the SLC1A family display structural and functional similarity. Since 2004, available structures of the archaeal homologues GltPh and GltTk have elucidated mechanisms of transport and inhibition common to the family. The recent determination of EAAT1 and ASCT2 structures may be of assistance in future efforts to design efficacious ASCT2 inhibitors. This review will focus on ASCT2, the present state of knowledge on its roles in tumour biology, and how structural biology is being used to progress the development of inhibitors.

Direct visualization of glutamate transporter elevator mechanism by high-speed AFM.

Glutamate transporters are essential for recovery of the neurotransmitter glutamate from the synaptic cleft. Crystal structures in the outward- and inward-facing conformations of a glutamate transporter homolog from archaebacterium Pyrococcus horikoshii, sodium/aspartate symporter GltPh, suggested the molecular basis of the transporter cycle. However, dynamic studies of the transport mechanism have been sparse and indirect. Here we present high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) observations of membrane-reconstituted GltPh at work. HS-AFM movies provide unprecedented real-space and real-time visualization of the transport dynamics. Our results show transport mediated by large amplitude 1.85-nm "elevator" movements of the transport domains consistent with previous crystallographic and spectroscopic studies. Elevator dynamics occur in the absence and presence of sodium ions and aspartate, but stall in sodium alone, providing a direct visualization of the ion and substrate symport mechanism. We show unambiguously that individual protomers within the trimeric transporter function fully independently.

Transport rates of a glutamate transporter homologue are influenced by the lipid bilayer.

The aspartate transporter from Pyrococcus horikoshii (GltPh) is a model for the structure of the SLC1 family of amino acid transporters. Crystal structures of GltPh provide insight into mechanisms of ion coupling and substrate transport; however, structures have been solved in the absence of a lipid bilayer so they provide limited information regarding interactions that occur between the protein and lipids of the membrane. Here, we investigated the effect of the lipid environment on aspartate transport by reconstituting GltPh into liposomes of defined lipid composition where the primary lipid is phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) or its methyl derivatives. We showed that the rate of aspartate transport and the transmembrane orientation of GltPh were influenced by the primary lipid in the liposomes. In PE liposomes, we observed the highest transport rate and showed that 85% of the transporters were orientated right-side out, whereas in trimethyl PE liposomes, 50% of transporters were right-side out, and we observed a 4-fold reduction in transport rate. Differences in orientation can only partially explain the lipid composition effect on transport rate. Crystal structures of GltPh revealed a tyrosine residue (Tyr-33) that we propose interacts with lipid headgroups during the transport cycle. Based on site-directed mutagenesis, we propose that a cation-π interaction between Tyr-33 and the lipid headgroups can influence conformational flexibility of the trimerization domain and thus the rate of transport. These results provide a specific example of how interactions between membrane lipids and membrane-bound proteins can influence function and highlight the importance of the role of the membrane in transporter function.

Transport mechanism of a glutamate transporter homologue GltPh.

Glutamate transporters are responsible for uptake of the neurotransmitter glutamate in mammalian central nervous systems. Their archaeal homologue GltPh, an aspartate transporter isolated from Pyrococcus horikoshii, has been the focus of extensive studies through crystallography, MD simulations and single-molecule FRET (smFRET). Here, we summarize the recent research progress on GltPh, in the hope of gaining some insights into the transport mechanism of this aspartate transporter.

The Split Personality of Glutamate Transporters: A Chloride Channel and a Transporter.

Transporters and ion channels are conventionally categorised into distinct classes of membrane proteins. However, some membrane proteins have a split personality and can function as both transporters and ion channels. The excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) in particular, function as both glutamate transporters and chloride (Cl(-)) channels. The EAATs couple the transport of glutamate to the co-transport of three Na(+) ions and one H(+) ion into the cell, and the counter-transport of one K(+) ion out of the cell. The EAAT Cl(-) channel is activated by the binding of glutamate and Na(+), but is thermodynamically uncoupled from glutamate transport and involves molecular determinants distinct from those responsible for glutamate transport. Several crystal structures of an EAAT archaeal homologue, GltPh, at different stages of the transport cycle, alongside numerous functional studies and molecular dynamics simulations, have provided extensive insights into the mechanism of substrate transport via these transporters. However, the molecular determinants involved in Cl(-) permeation, and the mechanism by which this channel is activated are not entirely understood. Here we will discuss what is currently known about the molecular determinants involved in EAAT-mediated Cl(-) permeation and the mechanisms that underlie their split personality.

Na+ interactions with the neutral amino acid transporter ASCT1.

The alanine, serine, cysteine transporters (ASCTs) belong to the solute carrier family 1A (SLC1A), which also includes the excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) and the prokaryotic aspartate transporter GltPh. Acidic amino acid transport by the EAATs is coupled to the co-transport of three Na(+) ions and one proton, and the counter-transport of one K(+) ion. In contrast, neutral amino acid exchange by the ASCTs does not require protons or the counter-transport of K(+) ions and the number of Na(+) ions required is not well established. One property common to SLC1A family members is a substrate-activated anion conductance. We have investigated the number and location of Na(+) ions required by ASCT1 by mutating residues in ASCT1 that correspond to residues in the EAATs and GltPh that are involved in Na(+) binding. Mutations to all three proposed Na(+) sites influence the binding of substrate and/or Na(+), or the rate of substrate exchange. A G422S mutation near the Na2 site reduced Na(+) affinity, without affecting the rate of exchange. D467T and D467A mutations in the Na1 site reduce Na(+) and substrate affinity and also the rate of substrate exchange. T124A and D380A mutations in the Na3 site selectively reduce the affinity for Na(+) and the rate of substrate exchange without affecting substrate affinity. In many of the mutants that reduce the rate of substrate transport the amplitudes of the substrate-activated anion conductances are not substantially affected indicating altered ion dependence for channel activation compared with substrate exchange.

Large domain movements through the lipid bilayer mediate substrate release and inhibition of glutamate transporters.

Glutamate transporters are essential players in glutamatergic neurotransmission in the brain, where they maintain extracellular glutamate below cytotoxic levels and allow for rounds of transmission. The structural bases of their function are well established, particularly within a model archaeal homolog, sodium, and aspartate symporter GltPh. However, the mechanism of gating on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane remains ambiguous. We report Cryo-EM structures of GltPh reconstituted into nanodiscs, including those structurally constrained in the cytoplasm-facing state and either apo, bound to sodium ions only, substrate, or blockers. The structures show that both substrate translocation and release involve movements of the bulky transport domain through the lipid bilayer. They further reveal a novel mode of inhibitor binding and show how solutes release is coupled to protein conformational changes. Finally, we describe how domain movements are associated with the displacement of bound lipids and significant membrane deformations, highlighting the potential regulatory role of the bilayer.