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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Sep 2.
Published in final edited form as: ACS Chem Biol. 2013 Jul 16;8(9):1947–1954. doi: 10.1021/cb400259n

Figure 1.

Figure 1

VMAT2 is an important component of monoamine secretory systems in the brain and periphery. (A) Schematic representation of a dopaminergic presynaptic release site as a specific example of monoaminergic presynaptic elements. Dopamine is concentrated into synaptic vesicles via VMAT2, a transport driven by the pH gradient between the synaptic vesicle lumen and the cytoplasm. Dopamine is released via exocytosis and recycled via dopamine transporter (DAT) on the cell surface. VMAT2 is shared by the central monoaminergic synapses. (B) Schematic representation of a VMAT2 (blue) expressing cell (VMAT2-HEK cells or pancreatic beta cells). (C) Examples of endogenous monoamine VMAT2 substrates. (D) Example of MPP+, an exogenous VMAT2 substrate. (E) Compound FFN206 is a fluorescent VMAT2 substrate developed in this work, which enables functional examination of VMAT2 in cell culture.