Serotonin Transporter: Difference between revisions

      SERTs are members of the sodium-coupled transporter family. These proteins harness the pre-existing sodium gradients to catalyze the uptake of serotonin.  Unfortunately, no high-resolution structure of a SERT has been solved. Instead a prokaryotic homolog of SERT, i.e. LeuT has been solved. LeuT shares significant sequence homology, especially for areas of the protein critical for function. The **overall structure of SERT** is dominated by alpha helices. A pore similar to that seen in the [[Potassium Channel]] **passes directly through** the structure. Serotonin passes through this pore upon reuptake. **Sodium ions stabilize** the serotonin bound structure before releasing serotonin within the presynaptic neuron.