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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: Neurobiol Dis. 2017 Apr 27;105:51–73. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2017.04.015

Figure 7. Dopamine Transporter has three distinct modes of activity in dopamine neurons.

Figure 7

Independent of dopamine neuron firing, the dopamine transporter, DAT, an integral membrane protein, transports the neurotransmitter, dopamine (DA), along with two sodium ions (Na+) and one chloride ion (Cl-) across the plasma membrane by three mechanisms: (1) uptake which involves a conformational change in DAT that is induced by the sequential binding of the ions and dopamine to the transporter and the subsequent release of the ions and dopamine into the cytosol (2) reverse transport or efflux mechanism which involves reverse transport of cytosolic dopamine to the extracellular space. The reverse transport of dopamine via DAT occurs via multiple mechanisms. These include but not limited to, conditions when the transporter is in an inward facing conformation, as occurs following exposure to psychostimulants such as amphetamine, when there is excess intra-neuronal DA, or when there is phosphorylation of the N-terminal domain of DAT. The third mechanism is a channel-like mechanism (3) where dopamine is transported via the DAT across its electrochemical gradient.