Journal
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
Volume 6, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2015.00235
Keywords
molecular dynamics; monoamine transporters; serotonin transporter; dopamine transporter; norepinephrine transporter
Categories
Funding
- Danish National Research Foundation [DNRF59]
- Carlsberg Foundation
- Lundbeck Foundation
- Danish Councils for Independent Research I Medical Sciences [DPP 4004-00309]
- Technology and Production Science [FTP 11-105010]
- Natural Sciences [DPP - 4002-00502]
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The human monoamine transporters (MATs) facilitate the reuptake of the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine from the synaptic cleft. Imbalance in monoaminergic neurotransmission is linked to various diseases including major depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease. Inhibition of the MATs is thus an important strategy for treatment of such diseases. The MATs are sodium-coupled transport proteins belonging to the neurotransmitter/Na+ symporter (NSS) family, and the publication of the first highresolution structure of a NSS family member, the bacterial leucine transporter LeuT, in 2005, proved to be a major stepping stone for understanding this family of transporters. Structural data allows for the use of computational methods to study the MATs, which in turn has led to a number of important discoveries. The process of substrate translocation across the membrane is an intrinsically dynamic process. Molecular dynamics simulations, which can provide atomistic details of molecular motion on ns to ms timescales, are therefore well-suited for studying transport processes. In this review, we outline how molecular dynamics simulations have provided insight into the large scale motions associated with transport of the neurotransmitters, as well as the presence of external and internal gates, the coupling between ion and substrate transport, and differences in the conformational changes induced by substrates and inhibitors.
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