Dopamine Transporter Molecular Model

[hussness]

I just ran into an article in the Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design in which the authors claimed to have come up with a molecular model for the dopamine transporter. Anyone know anything about this? The article, though fascinating, is WAY out of my league at this point.

 

[BilZ0r]

Yeah, I think I know the article, I've got one of the figures from it in my gallery

.

There was a recent article in nature, where there was a more detailed model of a 12 transmembrane spanning Na+ dependent trasporter, of which the dopamine transporter is an analog.

 

[hussness]

What exactly does "analog" mean on that kind of scale?

 

[BilZ0r]

That they spawned from the same protein phylogenically speak. That they share the same function and have roughly similar forms. That they probably have a large degree of amino acid equality.

A homologue would be a more acurate term.

 

[EN21]

Isn't it remarkable that especially quaternary salts exhibit an extraordinary affinity to the DAT?
They are so often neglected in the psychopharmacology, because they don't pass the BBB due to their hydrophilic properties, but as ligands to the DAT or any OCT they could easily cross it, I think.
Am I wrong?
I have all that MPP+ stuff in my mind that has an affinity to the DAT that is much much more than dopamine itself.

 

[nanobrain]

Isn't it remarkable that especially an extraordinary affinity to the DAT?
They are so often neglected in the psychopharmacology, because they don't pass the BBB due to their hydrophilic properties, but as ligands to the DAT or any OCT they could easily cross it, I think.
Am I wrong?
I have all that MPP+ stuff in my mind that has an affinity to the DAT that is much much more than dopamine itself.

in our quest for bioactive intermediates of the isoprenoid pathway we have found quaternary salts show much activity, often higher than the supposedly more active precursor.