Vesicular acetylcholine transporter

The Vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) is a neurotransmitter transporter which is responsible for loading acetylcholine (ACh) into secretory organelles in neurons making acetylcholine available for secretion.^[5][6] It is encoded by Solute carrier family 18, member 3 (SLC18A3) gene, located within the first intron of the choline acetyltransferase gene. VAChT is able to transport ACh into vesicles by relying on an exchange between protons (H⁺) that were previously pumped into the vesicle diffusing out, thus acting as an antiporter. ACh molecules are then carried into the vesicle by the action of exiting protons.^[7] Acetylcholine transport utilizes a proton gradient established by a vacuolar ATPase.

SLC18A3
Identifiers
Aliases	SLC18A3, VACHT, solute carrier family 18 member A3, CMS21
External IDs	OMIM: 600336; MGI: 1101061; HomoloGene: 11022; GeneCards: SLC18A3; OMA:SLC18A3 - orthologs
Gene location (Human) Chr. Chromosome 10 (human)[1] Band 10q11.23 Start 49,610,310 bp[1] End 49,612,720 bp[1]
Gene location (Mouse) Chr. Chromosome 14 (mouse)[2] Band 14 B|14 19.4 cM Start 32,184,395 bp[2] End 32,186,807 bp[2]
RNA expression pattern Bgee Human Mouse (ortholog) Top expressed in gonad putamen caudate nucleus placenta muscle layer of sigmoid colon nucleus accumbens hypothalamus C1 segment muscle tissue pituitary gland Top expressed in lumbar subsegment of spinal cord facial motor nucleus anterior horn of spinal cord habenula neural tube embryo superior frontal gyrus basal plate embryo neural layer of retina More reference expression data BioGPS n/a
Gene ontology Molecular function acetylcholine binding acetylcholine transmembrane transporter activity Cellular component integral component of membrane plasma membrane clathrin-sculpted acetylcholine transport vesicle membrane AP-2 adaptor complex AP-1 adaptor complex clathrin-coated vesicle membrane presynapse membrane terminal bouton Biological process neurotransmitter transport neurotransmitter secretion transmembrane transport ammonium transmembrane transport membrane organization xenobiotic transmembrane transport organic cation transport acetate ester transport Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs Species Human Mouse Entrez 6572 20508 Ensembl ENSG00000187714 ENSMUSG00000100241 UniProt Q16572 O35304 Q3TYJ1 RefSeq (mRNA) NM_003055 NM_021712 RefSeq (protein) NP_003046 NP_068358 Location (UCSC) Chr 10: 49.61 – 49.61 Mb Chr 14: 32.18 – 32.19 Mb PubMed search [3] [4]
Wikidata
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VAChT uptake inhibitors

Radiolabeled compounds

PET imaging of the VAChT may provide insights into early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

• (−)-trans-2-Hydroxy-3-(4-(4-[¹⁸F]fluorobenzoyl)piperidino)tetralin; racemate: Ki = 2.70 nM for VAChT, 191 nM for σ1, and 251 nM for σ2^[8]