excitatory amino acid transporter

Any of the sodium- and potassium-dependent members of the solute carrier family (SLC) 6, which are widely distributed in the brain. EAATs regulate excitatory neurotransmission, maintain low extracellular glutamate concentrations (reducing neurotoxicity) and provide glutamate for glutamate-glutamine cycle metabolism. Each of the five subtypes has a main primary distribution:
• EAAT1—Cerebellar glia;
• EAAT2—Forebrain glia;
• EAAT3—Cortical neurons;
• EAAT4—Cerebellar Purkinje neurons;
• EAAT5—Retina.

Molecular pathology
EAAT overactivity has been implicated in schizophrenia and other mental illnesses; underactivity occurs in ischaemia and traumatic brain injury.

References in periodicals archive

Normally, the glutamate transporter is turned on in all astrocytes.

Johns Hopkins University - Researchers Repair Faulty Brain Circuits Using Nanotechnology

(11) Treatment with the well-known glutamate transporter type 1 (GLT-1) upregulator, ceftriaxone (CEF), has been documented to block relapse to use several drugs, including METH.

Role of venlafaxine in relapse to methamphetamine seeking: Potential treatment option for drug dependence

One of the leading hypotheses is that ocular hypertension causes glutamate transporter dysfunction, leading to the excessive glutamate increase in the extracellular space.

Cyanin Chloride Inhibits Hyperbaric Pressure-Induced Decrease of Intracellular Glutamate-Aspartate Transporter in Rat Retinal Muller Cells

Kavanaugh, "Flux coupling in a neuronal glutamate transporter," Nature, vol.

Astrocytes and the Warning Signs of Intracerebral Hemorrhagic Stroke

Regan et al., "[beta]-Lactam antibiotics offer neuroprotection by increasing glutamate transporter expression," Nature, vol.

Ceftriaxone Treatment for Neuronal Deficits: A Histological and MEMRI Study in a Rat Model of Dementia with Lewy Bodies

This was later attributed to altered glutamate clearance from the synaptic cleft due to the reduced expression and function of the [Na.sup.+]-dependent glutamate transporter EAAT2 (GLT-1 in rodents) in ALS patients [106] and mouse models [107,108].

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a Multisystem Pathology: Insights into the Role of TNF[alpha]

(2000) Identification of a vesicular glutamate transporter that defines a glutamatergic phenotype in neurons.

Strength and precision of neurotransmission at mammalian presynaptic terminals

VGLUT3 (vesicular glutamate transporter type 3) contribution to the regulation of serotonergic transmission and anxiety.

Mechanism of action of Rhodiola, salidroside, tyrosol and triandrin in isolated neuroglial cells: an interactive pathway analysis of the downstream effects using RNA microarray data