Functional dynamics of glutamate transporters - Olga Boudker

Olga Boudker, PhD

Professor of Physiology and Biophysics
Weill Cornell Medical College

Host: Rabindra (Robin) Shivnaraine (Kobilka Lab)

Abstract

Glutamate transporters are responsible for the uptake of the neurotransmitter glutamate from the synaptic cleft into glial cells in a process driven by the energy of ionic gradients. Extensive studies on a bacterial homologue GltPh have shown that these transporters operate by a so-called elevator mechanism, where a distinct “transport” domain moves the substrate and coupled ions across the membrane. The dynamics of this process determine the rate at which the transporters operate. We aim to understand the nature of the energetic barriers that shape the dynamics and function of these transporters and the means of their rational manipulations. 

Curriculum Vitae

Related papers

[1] Akyuz N, Georgieva ER, Zhou Z, Stolzenberg S, Cuendet MA, Khelashvili G, Altman RB, Terry DS, Freed JH, Weinstein H, Boudker O, Blanchard SC. Transport domain unlocking sets the uptake rate of an aspartate transporter. Nature. 2015 Feb 5;518(7537):68-73. doi: 10.1038/nature14158. PubMed PMID: 25652997; PubMed Central, DOI: 10.1038/nature14158

[2] Oh S, Boudker O. Kinetic mechanism of coupled binding in sodium-aspartate symporter GltPh. Elife. 2018 Sep 26;7. pii: e37291. PubMed PMID: 30255846; DOI: 10.7554/eLife.37291