Abstract
Plasma membrane transporters, located in the presynaptic terminal and/or surrounding glial cells, terminate synaptic transmission by facilitating rapid, high-affinity uptake of the neurotransmitter from the synaptic cleft. Pharmacological blockade of transporters increases extracellular neurotransmitter levels and prolongs transmitter exposure to the receptors. Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporters (GATs) belong to the Na+- and Cl--dependent transporter family. Four GATs have been isolated and cloned in mammals, of which GAT-1 and GAT-3 are expressed in the retina. The GAT- 1 transporter has a widespread distribution to different retinal cell types, but it is prominently expressed in the amacrine cells of all vertebrate species studied to date. There are some species differences in the expression patterns of GAT-1 in the retina. It is expressed by horizontal cells in non-mammalian, but not in mammalian, retinas, and it is expressed in Muller glial cells of rats and guinea pigs, but not in those of rabbits and primates.
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