The substrates of a sodium- and chloride-coupled gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter protect multiple sites throughout the protein against proteolytic cleavage

Trypsinization severely perturbs radioiodide transport via membrane Na/I symporter proteolysis: implications for reporter gene imaging

INTRODUCTION

Cell preparation procedures injurious to Na/I symporters (NIS) could deter their usefulness for reporter gene assays and in vivo cell imaging. In this study, we investigated the effects of cell collection by trypsinization on radioiodide transport and in vivo cell imaging results.

METHODS

The influence of trypsinization procedures on (125)I transport was evaluated using Huh-7/NIS hepatoma cells. The effects of graded concentrations of trypsin and EDTA were assessed on Huh-7/NIS and A431/NIS lung cancer cells. Trypsin-induced NIS proteolysis was investigated by immunoblots of plasma membrane prepared from adenovirus-infected mouse liver tissue. (99m)Tc-O(4)(-) scintigraphy was performed in Balb/C nude mice at 1 and 4 h following administration of Huh-7/NIS cells collected with and without trypsin.

RESULTS

(125)I Transport ability of Huh-7/NIS cells was severely impaired within minutes of standard trypsinization and further deteriorated up to 24 h after termination of treatment. This perturbation was caused by trypsin, which dose- and time-dependently induced substantial reductions of (125)I uptake in Huh-7/NIS and A431/NIS cells. Immunoblot analysis revealed significant dose- and time-dependent losses of membrane NIS protein by trypsin. NIS proteolysis was completely blocked by soybean trypsin inhibitor, and partial protection was offered by the substrates iodide and perchlorate. On (99m)Tc-O(4)(-) scintigraphy of mice, cells prepared by trypsinization were poorly visualized, whereas those collected with a nonenzymatic method showed significantly better uptake and contrast.

CONCLUSION

Trypsinization leads to serious perturbations in iodide accumulating capacity through tryptic degradation of membrane NIS protein. Hence, NIS-based reporter assays and in vivo cell imaging studies may benefit from better-optimized cell cultivation and harvesting procedures.

Structure and function of sodium-coupled GABA and glutamate transporters

Neurotransmitter transporters are key elements in the termination of the synaptic actions of the neurotransmitters. They use the energy stored in the electrochemical ion gradients across the plasma membrane of neurons and glial cells for uphill transport of the transmitters into the cells surrounding the synapse. Therefore specific transporter inhibitors can potentially be used as novel drugs for neurological disease. Sodium-coupled neurotransmitter transporters belong to either of two distinct families. The glutamate transporters belong to the SLC1 family, whereas the transporters of the other neurotransmitters belong to the SLC6 family. An exciting and recent development is the emergence of the first high-resolution structures of archeal and bacterial members belonging to these two families. In this review the functional results on prototypes of the two families, the GABA transporter GAT-1 and the glutamate transporters GLT-1 and EAAC1, are described and discussed within the perspective provided by the novel structures.

Transporter-associated currents in the gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter GAT-1 are conditionally impaired by mutations of a conserved glycine residue

To determine whether glycine residues play a role in the conformational changes during neurotransmitter transport, we have analyzed site-directed mutants of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter GAT-1 in a domain containing three consecutive glycines conserved throughout the sodium- and chloride-dependent neurotransmitter transporter family. Only cysteine replacement of glycine 80 resulted in the complete loss of [(3)H]GABA uptake, but oocytes expressing this mutant exhibited the sodium-dependent transient currents thought to reflect a charge-moving conformational change. When sodium was removed and subsequently added back, the transients by G80C did not recover, as opposed to wild type, where recovery was almost complete. Remarkably, the transients by G80C could be restored after exposure of the oocytes to either GABA or a depolarizing pre-pulse. These treatments also resulted in a full recovery of the transients by the wild type. Whereas in wild type lithium leak currents are observed after prior sodium depletion, this was not the case for the glycine 80 mutants unless GABA was added or the oocytes were subjected to a depolarizing pre-pulse. Thus, glycine 80 appears essential for conformational transitions in GAT-1. When this residue is mutated, removal of sodium results in "freezing" the transporter in one conformation from which it can only exit by compensatory changes induced by GABA or depolarization. Our results can be explained by a model invoking two outward-facing states of the empty transporter and a defective transition between these states in the glycine 80 mutants.

Uptake inhibitors but not substrates induce protease resistance in extracellular loop two of the dopamine transporter

Changes in protease sensitivity of extracellular loop two (EL2) of the dopamine transporter (DAT) during inhibitor and substrate binding were examined using trypsin proteolysis and epitope-specific immunoblotting. In control rat striatal membranes, proteolysis of DAT in a restricted region of EL2 was produced by 0.001 to 10 microg/ml trypsin. However, in the presence of the dopamine uptake blockers [2-(diphenylmethoxyl) ethyl]-4-(3phenylpropyl) piperazine (GBR 12909), mazindol, 2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-flourophenyl)tropane (beta-CFT), nomifensine, benztropine, or (-)-cocaine, 100- to 1000-fold higher concentrations of trypsin were required to produce comparable levels of proteolysis. Protease resistance induced by ligands was correlated with their affinity for DAT binding, was not observed with Zn2+, (+)-cocaine, or inhibitors of norepinephrine or serotonin transporters, and was not caused by altered catalytic activity of trypsin. Together, these results support the hypothesis that the interaction of uptake inhibitors with DAT induces a protease-resistant conformation in EL2. In contrast, binding of substrates did not induce protease resistance in EL2, suggesting that substrates and inhibitors interact with DAT differently during binding. To assess the effects of EL2 proteolysis on DAT function, the binding and transport properties of trypsin-digested DAT were assayed with [3H]CFT and [3H]dopamine. Digestion decreased the Bmax for binding and the Vmax for uptake in amounts that were proportional to the extent of proteolysis, indicating that the structural integrity of EL2 is required for maintenance of both DAT binding and transport functions. Together this data provides novel information about inhibitor and substrate interactions at EL2, possibly relating the protease resistant DAT conformation to a mechanism of transport inhibition.

Residues in the extracellular loop 4 are critical for maintaining the conformational equilibrium of the gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter-1

We mutated residues Met345 and Thr349 in the rat gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter-1 (GAT-1) to histidines (M345H and T349H). These two residues are located four amino acids apart at the extracellular end of transmembrane segment 7 in a region of GAT-1 that we have previously suggested undergoes conformational changes critical for the transport process. The two single mutants and the double mutant (M345H/T349H) were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and their steady-state and presteady-state kinetics were examined and compared with wild type GAT-1 by using the two-electrode voltage clamp method. Oocytes expressing M345H showed a decrease in apparent GABA affinity, an increase in apparent affinity for Na+, a shift in the charge/voltage (Q/Vm) relationship to more positive membrane potentials, and an increased Li+-induced leak current. Oocytes expressing T349H showed an increase in apparent GABA affinity, a decrease in apparent Na+ affinity, a profound shift in the Q/Vm relationship to more negative potentials, and a decreased Li+-induced leak current. The data are consistent with a shift in the conformational equilibrium of the mutant transporters, with M345H stabilized in an outward-facing conformation and T349H in an inward-facing conformation. These data suggest that the extracellular end of transmembrane domain 7 not only undergoes conformational changes critical for the translocation process but also plays a role in regulating the conformational equilibrium between inward- and outward-facing conformations.

Transmembrane domain I of the gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter GAT-1 plays a crucial role in the transition between cation leak and transport modes

The sodium- and chloride-dependent gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter is essential for synaptic transmission by this neurotransmitter. GAT-1 expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes exhibits sodium-dependent GABA-induced inward currents reflecting electrogenic sodium-coupled transport. In lithium-containing medium, GAT-1 mediates GABA-independent currents, the relationship of which to the physiological transport process is poorly understood. In this study, mutants are described that appear to be locked in this cation leak mode. When Gly(63), located in the middle of the highly conserved transmembrane domain I, was mutated to serine or cysteine, sodium-dependent GABA currents were abolished. Strikingly, these mutants exhibited robust inward currents in lithium- as well as potassium-containing media. Membrane-impermeant sulfhydryl reagents inhibited these currents of the cysteine but not of the serine mutant, indicating that this position was accessible to the external aqueous medium. The cation leak currents mediated by wild-type GAT-1 were inhibited by low millimolar sodium concentrations in a noncompetitive manner. Mutations at other positions of transmembrane domain I increased or decreased the apparent sodium affinity, as monitored by the sodium-dependent steady-state GABA currents or transient currents. In parallel, the ability of sodium to inhibit the cation leak currents was increased or decreased, respectively. Thus, transmembrane domain I of GAT-1 contains determinants controlling both sodium-coupled GABA flux and the cation leak pathway as well as the interconversion of these distinct modes. Our observations suggest the possibility that the permeation pathway in both modes shares common structural elements.

Engineered Zn(2+) switches in the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter-1. Differential effects on GABA uptake and currents

Two high affinity Zn(2+) binding sites were engineered in the otherwise Zn(2+)-insensitive rat gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter-1 (rGAT-1) based on structural information derived from Zn(2+) binding sites engineered previously in the homologous dopamine transporter. Introduction of a histidine (T349H) at the extracellular end of transmembrane segment (TM) 7 together with a histidine (E370H) or a cysteine (Q374C) at the extracellular end of TM 8 resulted in potent inhibition of [3H]GABA uptake by Zn(2+) (IC(50) = 35 and 44 microM, respectively). Upon expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes it was similarly observed that Zn(2+) was a potent inhibitor of the GABA-induced current (IC(50) = 21 microM for T349H/E370H and 51 microM for T349H/Q374C), albeit maximum inhibition was only approximately 40% in T349H/E370H versus approximately 90% in T349H/Q374C. In the wild type, Zn(2+) did not affect the Na(+)-dependent transient currents elicited by voltage jumps and thought to reflect capacitive charge movements associated with Na(+) binding. However, in both mutants Zn(2+) caused a reduction of the inward transient currents upon jumping to hyperpolarized potentials as reflected in rightward-shifted Q/V relationships. This suggests that Zn(2+) is inhibiting transporter function by stabilizing the outward-facing Na(+)-bound state. Translocation of lithium by the transporter does not require GABA binding and analysis of this uncoupled Li(+) conductance revealed a potent inhibition by Zn(2+) in T349H/E370H, whereas surprisingly the T349H/Q374C leak was unaffected. This differential effect supports that the leak conductance represents a unique operational mode of the transporter involving conformational changes different from those of the substrate translocation process. Altogether our results support both an evolutionary conserved structural organization of the TM 7/8 domain and a key role of this domain in GABA-dependent and -independent conformational changes of the transporter.

Mutation of arginine 44 of GAT-1, a (Na(+) + Cl(-))-coupled gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter from rat brain, impairs net flux but not exchange

The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter GAT-1 is a prototype of a large family of neurotransmitter transporters that includes those of dopamine and serotonin. GAT-1 maintains low synaptic concentrations of neurotransmitter by coupling GABA uptake to the fluxes of sodium and chloride. Here we identify a stretch of four amino acid residues predicted to lie in the juxtamembrane region prior to transmembrane domain 1 in the cytoplasmic amino-terminal tail of GAT-1, which is critical for its function. Two residues, arginine 44 and tryptophan 47, are fully conserved within the transporter family, and their deletion abolishes GABA transport in the HeLa cell expression system used. Tryptophan 47 can be replaced only by aromatic residues without loss of activity. Arginine 44 is essential for activity. Only when it is replaced by lysine, low activity levels (around 15% of those of the wild type) are observed. Using a reconstitution assay, we show that mutants in which this residue is replaced by lysine or histidine exhibit sodium- and chloride-dependent GABA exchange similar to the wild type. This indicates that these mutants are selectively impaired in the reorientation of the unloaded transporter, a step in the translocation cycle by which net flux and exchange differ. The high degree of conservation in the consensus sequence RXXW suggests that this region may influence the reorientation step in related transporters as well.

The reactivity of the gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter GAT-1 toward sulfhydryl reagents is conformationally sensitive. Identification of a major target residue

The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter GAT-1 is a prototype of neurotransmitter transporters that maintain low synaptic levels of the transmitter. Transport by GAT-1 is sensitive to the polar sulfhydryl reagent 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate. Following replacement of endogenous cysteines to other residues by site-directed mutagenesis, we have identified cysteine 399 as the major determinant of the sensitivity of the transporter to sulfhydryl modification. Cysteine-399 is located in the intracellular loop connecting putative transmembrane domains eight and nine. Binding of both sodium and chloride leads to a reduced sensitivity to sulfhydryl reagents, whereas subsequent binding of GABA increases it. Strikingly binding of the nontransportable GABA analogue SKF100330A gives rise to a marked protection against sulfhydryl modification. These effects were not observed in C399S transporters. Under standard conditions GAT-1 is almost insensitive toward the impermeant 2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl methanethiosulfonate. However, in a chloride-free medium, addition of SKF100330A renders wild type GAT-1, but not C399S, very sensitive to this impermeant reagent. These observations indicate that the accessibility of cysteine 399 is highly dependent on the conformation of GAT-1. Consequently, topological assignments based on accessibility of endogeneous or engineered cysteines to small polar sulfhydryl reagents need to be interpreted with extreme caution.

Phosphorylation and sequestration of serotonin transporters differentially modulated by psychostimulants

Many psychotropic drugs interfere with the reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Transport capacity is regulated by kinase-linked pathways, particularly those involving protein kinase C (PKC), resulting in transporter phosphorylation and sequestration. Phosphorylation and sequestration of the serotonin transporter (SERT) were substantially impacted by ligand occupancy. Ligands that can permeate the transporter, such as serotonin or the amphetamines, prevented PKC-dependent SERT phosphorylation. Nontransported SERT antagonists such as cocaine and antidepressants were permissive for SERT phosphorylation but blocked serotonin effects. PKC-dependent SERT sequestration was also blocked by serotonin. These findings reveal activity-dependent modulation of neurotransmitter reuptake and identify previously unknown consequences of amphetamine, cocaine, and antidepressant action.

Molecular biology of mammalian plasma membrane amino acid transporters

Molecular biology entered the field of mammalian amino acid transporters in 1990-1991 with the cloning of the first GABA and cationic amino acid transporters. Since then, cDNA have been isolated for more than 20 mammalian amino acid transporters. All of them belong to four protein families. Here we describe the tissue expression, transport characteristics, structure-function relationship, and the putative physiological roles of these transporters. Wherever possible, the ascription of these transporters to known amino acid transport systems is suggested. Significant contributions have been made to the molecular biology of amino acid transport in mammals in the last 3 years, such as the construction of knockouts for the CAT-1 cationic amino acid transporter and the EAAT2 and EAAT3 glutamate transporters, as well as a growing number of studies aimed to elucidate the structure-function relationship of the amino acid transporter. In addition, the first gene (rBAT) responsible for an inherited disease of amino acid transport (cystinuria) has been identified. Identifying the molecular structure of amino acid transport systems of high physiological relevance (e.g., system A, L, N, and x(c)- and of the genes responsible for other aminoacidurias as well as revealing the key molecular mechanisms of the amino acid transporters are the main challenges of the future in this field.

Enhancement of the functional stability of solubilized nucleoside transporters by substrates and inhibitors

Purification of functional nucleoside transporters has been hampered by the instability of detergent-solubilized proteins. The present study was undertaken to determine if the presence of specific transporter ligands in the solubilization medium could enhance the functional stability of the isolated proteins. Ehrlich cell plasma membranes were solubilized with 1% (w/v) octylglucoside (+/- transporter ligands) and reconstituted into liposomal membranes either immediately after solubilization or after storage for 48 hr at 6 degrees. Storage resulted in a parallel loss (approximately 60%) of [3H]nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR) binding and reconstituted [3H]uridine uptake activities. furthermore, upon storage, the relative amount of NBMPR-resistant [3H]uridine uptake by the reconstituted system dropped from 19 +/- 2 to 8 +/- 1% of the total mediated influx. The inclusion of high concentrations (> 10 mM) of adenosine in the solubilization medium completely prevented the storage-induced loss of both [3H]NBMPR binding and [3H]uridine influx activity, and prevented the shift in NBMPR sensitivity. In addition, inclusion of adenosine in the solubilization procedure increased the relative amount of NBMPR-resistant [3H]uridine uptake to 33 +/- 2% of the total influx in proteoliposomes prepared immediately after the proteins were extracted from the plasma membrane (i.e. no storage). A partial protection of [3H]NBMPR binding activity was also obtained using 2'-deoxyadenosine, 2-chloroadenosine, uridine, and non-radiolabelled NBMPR, but not with cytidine, inosine, diazepam, dipyridamole, or dilazep. These results suggest that both NBMPR sensitivity and transporter stability are dependent upon the conformational state of the protein. The protective effects of adenosine analogues and other nucleosides are likely due to their binding to the substrate translocation site, thereby effectively "locking" the transporter in a stable conformation.

The membrane topology of GAT-1, a (Na+ + Cl-)-coupled gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter from rat brain

The membrane topology of GAT-1, a sodium- and chloride-coupled gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter from rat brain, has been probed using N-glycosylation scanning mutagenesis. Overall, the results support the theoretical 12-transmembrane segment model. This model (based on hydropathy analysis) was originally proposed for GAT-1 and adopted for all other members of the sodium- and chloride-dependent neurotransmitter transporter superfamily. However, our data indicate that the loop connecting putative transmembrane domains 2 and 3, which was predicted to be located intracellularly, can be glycosylated in vivo. Furthermore, studies with permeant and impermeant methanesulfonate reagents suggest that cysteine 74, located in the hydrophilic loop connecting transmembrane domains 1 and 2, is intracellular rather than extracellular. We present a model in which the topology deviates from the theoretical one in the amino-terminal third of the transporter. It also contains 12 transmembrane segments, but the highly conserved domain 1 does not form a conventional transmembrane alpha-helix.

Glutamate-101 is critical for the function of the sodium and chloride-coupled GABA transporter GAT-1

We have investigated the possible role of selected negatively-charged amino acids of the sodium and chloride-coupled GABA transporter GAT-1 on sodium binding. These residues located adjacent to putative transmembrane domains and which are conserved throughout the large superfamily of neurotransmitter transporters were changed by site-directed mutagenesis. The functional consequences were that one of the residues, glutamate-101, was critical for transport. Its replacement by aspartate left only 1% of the activity, and no activity could be detected when it was replaced by other residues. Expression levels and targeting to the plasma membrane of the mutant transporters appeared normal. Transient sodium currents were not observed in the mutants, and increased sodium concentrations did not affect the percentage of wild type transport of the E101D mutant. It is concluded that residue glutamate-101 is critical for one or more of the conformational changes of GAT-1 during its transport cycle.

Neurotransmitter transporters: new members of known families

The identification of two gene families encoding neurotransmitter transporters was a major step towards a better understanding of these proteins and their function in neurotransmission. The recent isolation of additional members of these families underscores their high molecular diversity and implies a delicate regulation of transmitter uptake.