Synaptic transmission of most vertebrate synapses is thought to be terminated by rapid transport of the neurotransmitter into presynaptic nerve terminals or neuroglia. L-Glutamate is the major excitatory transmitter in brain and its transport represents the mechanism by which it is removed from the synaptic cleft and kept below toxic levels. Here we use an antibody against a glial L-glutamate transporter from rat brain to isolate a complementary DNA clone encoding this transporter. Expression of this cDNA in transfected HeLa cells indicates that L-glutamate accumulation requires external sodium and internal potassium and transport shows the expected stereospecificity. The cDNA sequence predicts a protein of 573 amino acids with 8-9 putative transmembrane alpha-helices. Database searches indicate that this protein is not homologous to any identified protein of mammalian origin, including the recently described superfamily of neurotransmitter transporters. This protein therefore seems to be a member of a new family of transport molecules.

The sodium- and potassium-coupled L-glutamate transporter from rat brain has been purified to near homogeneity by reconstitution of transport as an assay, assuming that inactivated and active transporters cochromatograph. The purification steps involve lectin chromatography of the membrane proteins solubilized with 3-[(3-chloramidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS), fractionation on hydroxylapatite, and ion-exchange chromatography. The specific activity is increased 30-fold. The actual purification is higher since 3-5-fold inactivation occurs during the purification. The efficiency of reconstitution was about 20%. The properties of the pure transporter are fully preserved. They include ion dependence, electrogenicity, affinity, substrate specificity, and stereospecificity. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide electrophoresis revealed one main band with an apparent molecular mass of around 80 kDa and a few minor bands. Comparison of polypeptide composition with L-glutamate transport activity throughout the fractionation procedure reveals that only the 80-kDa band can be correlated with activity. The GABA transporter, which has the same apparent molecular mass (Radian et al., 1986), is separated from it during the last two purification steps. Immunoblot experiments reveal that the antibodies against the GABA transporter only reacted with fractions exhibiting GABA transport activity and not with those containing the glutamate transporter. We conclude that the 80-kDa band represents the functional sodium- and potassium-coupled L-glutamate transporter.

Sodium-coupled glutamate transporters, located in the plasma membrane of nerve terminals and glial processes, serve to keep its extracellular glutamate concentration below extracellular levels. Moreover, they help in conjunction with diffusion to terminate the transmitter's action in synaptic transmission. We have investigated the role of negatively charged amino acid residues of GLT-1, a cloned (Na+ + K+)-coupled glutamate transporter from rat brain. Using site-directed mutagenesis we modified these negative residues, which are located in hydrophobic surroundings and are highly conserved within the glutamate transporter family. Out of five residues meeting these criteria, three, aspartate 398, glutamate 404, and aspartate 470, are critical for heterologously expressed glutamate transport. This defective transport cannot be attributed to the mere requirement of a negative charge at these positions. After prelabeling of the proteins with [35S]methionine, immunoprecipitation of all mutant transporters indicates that their expression levels are similar to that of wild type. No cryptic activity was revealed by reconstitution experiments aimed to monitor the activity of transporter molecules not located in the plasma membrane. Significantly, whereas all of the mutants at the glutamate 404 position exhibit impaired transport of glutamate, they possess considerable transport of D- and L-aspartate, up to 80% of wild type values. Binding of glutamate is not impaired in these mutants. Our observations indicate that the glutamate 404 residue may be located in the vicinity of the glutamate-aspartate permeation pathway.

Membrane vesicles from rat brain exhibit sodium-dependent uptake of L-[3H]glutamate in the absence of any transmembrane ion gradients. The substrate specificity of the process is identical with (Na+ + K+)-coupled L-glutamate accumulation. Although these vesicles are prepared after osmotic shock and are washed repeatedly, they contain about 1.5 nmol/mg of protein endogenous L-glutamate, apparently located inside the vesicles. The affinity of the process (Km approximately 1 microM) is similar to that of (Na+ + K+)-dependent accumulation by the L-glutamate transporter. Membrane vesicles have been disrupted by the detergent cholate, and the solubilized proteins have been subsequently reconstituted into liposomes. The reconstituted proteoliposomes also exhibit the above uptake--with the same characteristics--provided they contain entrapped cold L-glutamate. Counterflow is optimal when sodium is present on both sides of the membrane, but partial activity is still observed when sodium is present either on the inside or on the outside. Increasing the L-glutamate concentration above the Km results in counterflow completely independent of cis sodium. The initial rate of counterflow is 100-200-fold lower than that of net trans potassium dependent flux. The rate of net flux in the presence of trans sodium or lithium is about 10-fold lower than when choline or Tris are used instead. However, the rate of counterflow (no internal potassium present) was not stimulated by replacing internal sodium or lithium by internal choline. Therefore, optimal functioning of the transporter requires internal potassium while internal sodium and lithium are inhibitory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A novel method for the preparation of highly active immobilized enzymes is described. It is based on the binding of enzymes to suitable carriers via monoclonal antibodies, which bind to the enzyme with high affinity without affecting its catalytic activity. The applicability of the method forwarded has been illustrated by the preparation of two samples of highly active immobilized carboxypeptidase A (CPA) preparations as follows: A mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb 100)to CPA that binds to the enzyme with a high-affinity constant without affecting its catalytic activity was prepared, purified, and characterized. Covalent binding of this monoclonal antibody to Eupergit C (EC) or noncovalent binding to Sepharose-protein A (SPA)yielded the conjugated carriers EC-mAb and SPA.mAb, respectively, which reacted specifically with CPA to give the immobilized enzyme preparations EC-mAb.CPA and SPA.mAb.CPA displaying full catalytic activity and improved stability. At pH 7.5 and a temperature range of 4-37 degrees C an apparent binding constant of approximately 10(8)M(-1) characterizing the interaction of CPA with EC-mAb and SPA.mAb, was obtained. To compare the properties of EC-mAb.CPA and SPA.mAb.CPA with those of immobilized CPA preparations obtained by some representative techniques of covalent binding of the enzyme with a corresponding carrier, the following immobilized CPA preparations were obtained and their properties investigated: EC-CPA (I), a preparation obtained by direct binding of EC with CPA; EC-NH-GA-CPA (II), a derivative obtained by covalent binding of CPA to aminated EC via glutaraldehyde; EC-NH-Su-CPA (III), a CPA derivative obtained by binding the enzyme to aminated EC via a succinyl residue; and EC-HMD-GA-CPA (IV), obtained by binding the enzyme via glutaraldehyde to a hexamethylene diamine derivative of EC. Full enzymic activity for all of the bound enzyme, such as that recorded for the immobilized CPA preparations EC-mAb.CPA and SPA.mAb.CPA, was not detected in any of the insoluble covalently bound enzyme preparations.