Solute Carrier Family 6, Member 11 (SLC6A11)

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter. GABAergic neurotransmission is terminated by the uptake of GABA into the presynaptic terminal and the surrounding astroglial cells by sodium-dependent transporters.

By screening a human fetal brain cDNA library with rat Gat3, Borden et al. (1994) cloned SLC6A11, which they designated GAT3. The deduced 632-amino acid protein contains 12 transmembrane domains and several putative N-glycosylation sites. GAT3 shares 95% identity with rat Gat3. Northern blot analysis of total human brain RNA detected a single GAT3 transcript of about 3.8 kb.Borden et al. (1994) confirmed specific uptake of radiolabeled GABA by GAT3 following transfection into mouse fibroblasts and COS-7 cells.