GABA transporter type 3

GABA transporter type 3 (GAT3) uses sodium (Na⁺) electrochemical gradients to mediate uptake of GABA from the synaptic cleft by surrounding glial cells.^[1]

Subtype-selective GAT3 inhibitors are known since 2015.^[2]

The transporter and its effect on GABA concentrations in the amygdala has been implicated as a key player in the disease of alcoholism. In studies conducted on rat populations, reduction of GAT3 caused rats who formerly preferred sugar to prefer alcohol. Further, studies of deceased alcoholics show a decreased concentration of GAT3 in their brains.^[3]

See also

• GABA transporter 1
• GABA transporter 2
• Solute carrier family

References

1. Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessell TM, Siegelbaum SA, Hudspeth AJ (2013). Principles of Neural Science (Fifth ed.). McGraw-Hill Companies. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-07-139011-8.
2. Damgaard M, Al-Khawaja A, Vogensen SB, Jurik A, Sijm M, Lie ME, Bæk MI, Rosenthal E, Jensen AA, Ecker GF, Frølund B, Wellendorph P, Clausen RP (2015). "Identification of the First Highly Subtype-Selective Inhibitor of Human GABA Transporter GAT3". ACS Chem Neurosci. 6 (9): 1591–9. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00150. PMID 26154082.
3. "A Landmark Study on the Origins of Alcoholism". 21 June 2018.