TY - JOUR
T1 - Substrate binding stoichiometry and kinetics of the norepinephrine transporter
AU - Schwartz, Joel W.
AU - Novarino, Gaia
AU - Piston, David W.
AU - DeFelice, Louis J.
PY - 2005/5/13
Y1 - 2005/5/13
N2 - The human norepinephrine (NE) transporter (hNET) attenuates neuronal signaling by rapid NE clearance from the synaptic cleft, and NET is a target for cocaine and amphetamines as well as therapeutics for depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In spite of its central importance in the nervous system, little is known about how NET substrates, such as NE, 1-methyl-4-tetrahydropyridinium (MPP+), or amphetamine, interact with NET at the molecular level. Nor do we understand the mechanisms behind the transport rate. Previously we introduced a fluorescent substrate similar to MPP+, which allowed separate and simultaneous binding and transport measurement (Schwartz, J. W., Blakely, R. D., and DeFelice, L. J. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 9768-9777). Here we use this substrate, 4-(4-(dimethylamino)styrl)-N-methyl-pyridinium (ASP+), in combination with green fluorescent protein-tagged hNETs to measure substrate-transporter stoichiometry and substrate binding kinetics. Calibrated confocal microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy reveal that hNETs, which are homo-multimers, bind one substrate molecule per transporter subunit. Substrate residence at the transporter, obtained from rapid on-off kinetics revealed in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, is 526 μs. Substrate residence obtained by infinite dilution is 1000 times slower. This novel examination of substrate-transporter kinetics indicates that a single ASP + molecule binds and unbinds thousands of times before being transported or ultimately dissociated from hNET. Calibrated fluorescent images combined with mass spectroscopy give a transport rate of 0.06 ASP +/hNET-protein/s, thus 36,000 on-off binding events (and 36 actual departures) occur for one transport event. Therefore binding has a low probability of resulting in transport. We interpret these data to mean that inefficient binding could contribute to slow transport rates.
AB - The human norepinephrine (NE) transporter (hNET) attenuates neuronal signaling by rapid NE clearance from the synaptic cleft, and NET is a target for cocaine and amphetamines as well as therapeutics for depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In spite of its central importance in the nervous system, little is known about how NET substrates, such as NE, 1-methyl-4-tetrahydropyridinium (MPP+), or amphetamine, interact with NET at the molecular level. Nor do we understand the mechanisms behind the transport rate. Previously we introduced a fluorescent substrate similar to MPP+, which allowed separate and simultaneous binding and transport measurement (Schwartz, J. W., Blakely, R. D., and DeFelice, L. J. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 9768-9777). Here we use this substrate, 4-(4-(dimethylamino)styrl)-N-methyl-pyridinium (ASP+), in combination with green fluorescent protein-tagged hNETs to measure substrate-transporter stoichiometry and substrate binding kinetics. Calibrated confocal microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy reveal that hNETs, which are homo-multimers, bind one substrate molecule per transporter subunit. Substrate residence at the transporter, obtained from rapid on-off kinetics revealed in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, is 526 μs. Substrate residence obtained by infinite dilution is 1000 times slower. This novel examination of substrate-transporter kinetics indicates that a single ASP + molecule binds and unbinds thousands of times before being transported or ultimately dissociated from hNET. Calibrated fluorescent images combined with mass spectroscopy give a transport rate of 0.06 ASP +/hNET-protein/s, thus 36,000 on-off binding events (and 36 actual departures) occur for one transport event. Therefore binding has a low probability of resulting in transport. We interpret these data to mean that inefficient binding could contribute to slow transport rates.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=21444458653&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1074/jbc.M412923200
DO - 10.1074/jbc.M412923200
M3 - Article
C2 - 15757904
AN - SCOPUS:21444458653
SN - 0021-9258
VL - 280
SP - 19177
EP - 19184
JO - Journal of Biological Chemistry
JF - Journal of Biological Chemistry
IS - 19
ER -