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Charge compensation mechanism of a Na+-coupled, secondary active glutamate transporter.

ABSTRACT: Forward glutamate transport by the excitatory amino acid carrier EAAC1 is coupled to the inward movement of three Na(+) and one proton and the subsequent outward movement of one K(+) in a separate step. Based on indirect evidence, it was speculated that the cation binding sites bear a negative charge. However, little is known about the electrostatics of the transport process. Valences calculated using the Poisson-Boltzmann equation indicate that negative charge is transferred across the membrane when only one cation is bound. Consistently, transient currents were observed in response to voltage jumps when K(+) was the only cation on both sides of the membrane. Furthermore, rapid extracellular K(+) application to EAAC1 under single turnover conditions (K(+) inside) resulted in outward transient current. We propose a charge compensation mechanism, in which the C-terminal transport domain bears an overall negative charge of -1.23. Charge compensation, together with distribution of charge movement over many steps in the transport cycle, as well as defocusing of the membrane electric field, may be combined strategies used by Na(+)-coupled transporters to avoid prohibitive activation barriers for charge translocation.

SUBMITTER: Grewer C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3411028 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Charge compensation mechanism of a Na+-coupled, secondary active glutamate transporter.

Grewer Christof C Zhang Zhou Z Mwaura Juddy J Albers Thomas T Schwartz Alexander A Gameiro Armanda A

The Journal of biological chemistry 20120615 32

Forward glutamate transport by the excitatory amino acid carrier EAAC1 is coupled to the inward movement of three Na(+) and one proton and the subsequent outward movement of one K(+) in a separate step. Based on indirect evidence, it was speculated that the cation binding sites bear a negative charge. However, little is known about the electrostatics of the transport process. Valences calculated using the Poisson-Boltzmann equation indicate that negative charge is transferred across the membrane ...[more]

PMID: 22707712

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Project description:Neurotransmitter/Na(+) symporters (NSSs) terminate neuronal signalling by recapturing neurotransmitter released into the synapse in a co-transport (symport) mechanism driven by the Na(+) electrochemical gradient. NSSs for dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin are targeted by the psychostimulants cocaine and amphetamine, as well as by antidepressants. The crystal structure of LeuT, a prokaryotic NSS homologue, revealed an occluded conformation in which a leucine (Leu) and two Na(+) are bound deep within the protein. This structure has been the basis for extensive structural and computational exploration of the functional mechanisms of proteins with a LeuT-like fold. Subsequently, an 'outward-open' conformation was determined in the presence of the inhibitor tryptophan, and the Na(+)-dependent formation of a dynamic outward-facing intermediate was identified using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. In addition, single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging has been used to reveal reversible transitions to an inward-open LeuT conformation, which involve the movement of transmembrane helix TM1a away from the transmembrane helical bundle. We investigated how substrate binding is coupled to structural transitions in LeuT during Na(+)-coupled transport. Here we report a process whereby substrate binding from the extracellular side of LeuT facilitates intracellular gate opening and substrate release at the intracellular face of the protein. In the presence of alanine, a substrate that is transported ?10-fold faster than leucine, we observed alanine-induced dynamics in the intracellular gate region of LeuT that directly correlate with transport efficiency. Collectively, our data reveal functionally relevant and previously hidden aspects of the NSS transport mechanism that emphasize the functional importance of a second substrate (S2) binding site within the extracellular vestibule. Substrate binding in this S2 site appears to act cooperatively with the primary substrate (S1) binding site to control intracellular gating more than 30?Å away, in a manner that allows the Na(+) gradient to power the transport mechanism.

Dataset Information

Charge compensation mechanism of a Na+-coupled, secondary active glutamate transporter.

Publications

Charge compensation mechanism of a Na+-coupled, secondary active glutamate transporter.

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