Transcriptional Regulation of Glutamate Transporters: From Extracellular Signals to Transcription Factors.

Transcriptional Regulation of Glutamate Transporters: From Extracellular Signals to Transcription Factors. Adv Pharmacol. 2016;76:103-45 Authors: Martinez-Lozada Z, Guillem AM, Robinson MB Abstract Glutamate is the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian CNS. It mediates essentially all rapid excitatory signaling. Dysfunction of glutamatergic signaling contributes to developmental, neurologic, and psychiatric diseases. Extracellular glutamate is cleared by a family of five Na(+)-dependent glutamate transporters. Two of these transporters (GLAST and GLT-1) are relatively selectively expressed in astrocytes. Other of these transporters (EAAC1) is expressed by neurons throughout the nervous system. Expression of the last two members of this family (EAAT4 and EAAT5) is almost exclusively restricted to specific populations of neurons in cerebellum and retina, respectively. In this review, we will discuss our current understanding of the mechanisms that control transcriptional regulation of the different members of this family. Over the last two decades, our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate expression of GLT-1 and GLAST has advanced considerably; several specific transcription factors, cis-elements, and epigenetic mechanisms have been identified. For the other members of the family, little or nothing is known about the mechanisms that control their transcription. It is assumed that by defining the mechanisms i...
Source: Advances in Pharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Adv Pharmacol Source Type: research