L-Proline Transporter, Brain Specific (PROT)

SLC6A7 is a member of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter gene family and encodes a high-affinity mammalian brain L-proline transporter protein. This transporter protein differs from other sodium-dependent plasma membrane carriers by its pharmacological specificity, kinetic properties, and ionic requirements.SLC6A7 has no clear signal sequence. Expression of SLC6A7 determined that proline uptake by the transporter is sodium- and chloride-dependent. Northern blot analysis revealed expression of an approximately 4.0-kb SLC6A7 transcript only in brain. Within brain, expression was strongest in hypothalamus and hippocampus, moderate in amygdala, thalamus, and subthalamic nucleus, and slight or absent in corpus callosum, caudate nucleus, and substantia nigra.