Transmembrane reorientation of the substrate-binding site in vesicular acetylcholine transporter

Vesicular neurotransmitter transporters: mechanistic aspects

Secondary transporters driven by a V-type H⁺-ATPase accumulate nonpeptide neurotransmitters into synaptic vesicles. Distinct transporter families are involved depending on the neurotransmitter. Monoamines and acetylcholine on the one hand, and glutamate and ATP on the other hand, are accumulated by SLC18 and SLC17 transporters, respectively, which belong to the major facilitator superfamily (MFS). GABA and glycine accumulate through a common SLC32 transporter from the amino acid/polyamine/organocation (APC) superfamily. Although crystallographic structures are not yet available for any vesicular transporter, homology modeling studies of MFS-type vesicular transporters based on distantly related bacterial structures recently provided significant advances, such as the characterization of substrate-binding pockets or the identification of spatial clusters acting as hinge points during the alternating-access cycle. However, several basic issues, such as the ion stoichiometry of vesicular amino acid transporters, remain unsettled.

Search for the acetylcholine and vesamicol binding sites in vesicular acetylcholine transporter: the region around the lumenal end of the transport channel

Vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT; TC 2.A.1.2.13) mediates storage of acetylcholine (ACh) by synaptic vesicles. A three-dimensional homology model of VAChT is available, but the binding sites for ACh and the allosteric inhibitor (-)-trans-2-(4-phenylpiperidino)cyclohexanol (vesamicol) are unknown. In previous work, mutations of invariant W331 in the lumenal beginning of transmembrane helix VIII (TM VIII) of rat VAChT led to as much as ninefold loss in equilibrium affinity for ACh and no loss in affinity for vesamicol. The current work investigates the effects of additional mutations in and around W331 and the nearby lumenal end of the substrate transport channel. Mutants of human VAChT were expressed in the PC12(A123.7) cell line and characterized using radiolabeled ligands and filtration assays for binding and transport. Properties of a new and a repeat mutation in W331 are consistent with the original observations. Of 16 additional mutations in 13 other residues (Y60 in the beginning of lumenal Loop I/II, F231 in the lumenal end of TM V, W315, M316, K317, in the lumenal end of TM VII, M320, A321, W325, A330 in lumenal Loop VII/VIII, A334 in the lumenal beginning of TM VIII, and C388, C391, F392 in the lumenal beginning of TM X), only A334F impairs binding. This mutation decreases ACh and vesamicol equilibrium binding affinities by 14- and 4-fold, respectively. The current results, combined with previous results, demonstrate existence of a spatial cluster of residues close to vesicular lumen that decreases affinity for ACh and/or vesamicol when the cluster is mutated. The cluster is composed of invariant W331, highly conserved A334, and invariant F335 in TM VIII and invariant C391 in TM X. Different models for the locations of the ACh and vesamicol binding sites relative to this cluster are discussed.

Pharmacology of neurotransmitter transport into secretory vesicles

Many neuropsychiatric disorders appear to involve a disturbance of chemical neurotransmission, and the mechanism of available therapeutic agents supports this impression. Postsynaptic receptors have received considerable attention as drug targets, but some of the most successful agents influence presynaptic processes, in particular neurotransmitter reuptake. The pharmacological potential of many other presynaptic elements, and in particular the machinery responsible for loading transmitter into vesicles, has received only limited attention. The similarity of vesicular transporters to bacterial drug resistance proteins and the increasing evidence for regulation of vesicle filling and recycling suggest that the pharmacological potential of vesicular transporters has been underestimated. In this review, we discuss the pharmacological effects of psychostimulants and therapeutic agents on transmitter release.

Mutational and bioinformatics analysis of proline- and glycine-rich motifs in vesicular acetylcholine transporter

The vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) contains six conserved sequence motifs that are rich in proline and glycine. Because these residues can have special roles in the conformation of polypeptide backbone, the motifs might have special roles in conformational changes during transport. Using published bioinformatics insights, the amino acid sequences of the 12 putative, helical, transmembrane segments of wild-type and mutant VAChTs were analyzed for propensity to form non-alpha-helical conformations and molecular notches. Many instances were found. In particular, high propensity for kinks and notches are robustly predicted for motifs D2, C and C'. Mutations in these motifs either increase or decrease Vmax for transport, but they rarely affect the equilibrium dissociation constants for ACh and the allosteric inhibitor, vesamicol. The near absence of equilibrium effects implies that the mutations do not alter the backbone conformation. In contrast, the Vmax effects demonstrate that the mutations alter the difficulty of a major conformational change in transport. Interestingly, mutation of an alanine to a glycine residue in motif C significantly increases the rates for reorientation across the membrane. These latter rates are deduced from the kinetics model of the transport cycle. This mutation is also predicted to produce a more flexible kink and tighter tandem notches than are present in wild-type. For the full set of mutations, faster reorientation rates correlate with greater predicted propensity for kinks and notches. The results of the study argue that conserved motifs mediate conformational changes in the VAChT backbone during transport.

Characterization of DIDS-sensitive ATP accumulation in brain synaptic vesicles

ATP is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous system. We investigated ATP accumulation in highly purified brain synaptic vesicles (SVs). Based on the amount of ATP accumulated in SVs under the conditions used, ATP is not transported against a concentration gradient but rather appears to have a Delta mu H(+)-independent mechanism. ATP transport was inhibited by DIDS and NEM, but was not affected by Mg(2+) or by pre-incubation with nucleotides. These results suggest a unique transport mechanism that does not involve exchange with other nucleotides or protons, unlike other known neurotransmitter transport systems.

New transport assay demonstrates vesicular acetylcholine transporter has many alternative substrates

The acetylcholine-binding site in vesicular acetylcholine transporter faces predominantly toward the outside of the vesicle when resting but predominantly toward the inside when transporting. Transport-related reorientation is detected by an ATP-induced decrease in the ability of saturating substrate to displace allosterically bound [(3)H]vesamicol. The assay was used here to determine whether structurally diverse compounds are transported by rat VAChT expressed in PC12(A123.7) cells. Competition by ethidium, tetraphenylphosphonium and other monovalent organic cations with [(3)H]vesamicol is decreased when ATP is added, and the effect depends on proton-motive force. The results indicate that many organic molecules carrying +1 charge are transported, even though the compounds do not resemble acetylcholine in structural details.