High impact information on Eaat2

• We now show that dEAAT2 can also transport the amino acid taurine with high affinity, a property that is not shared by two other transporters of the same family, Drosophila dEAAT1 and human hEAAT2 [1].
• High affinity transport of taurine by the Drosophila aspartate transporter dEAAT2 [1].
• Therefore, dEAAT2 is actually an aspartate/taurine transporter [1].
• We previously reported that dEAAT2 shows unique substrate discrimination as it mediates high affinity transport of aspartate but not glutamate [1].
• We found that dEAAT2 can also transport L-glutamate but with a much lower affinity (K(m) = 185 microM) and a 10- to 15-fold lower relative efficacy (V(max)/K(m)) [2].

Anatomical context of Eaat2

• Conversely, ectopic expression of gcm in neuroblasts, which forces all nerve cells to adopt a glial fate, induces an ubiquitous expression of both EAAT genes in the nervous system [3].

Other interactions of Eaat2

• We also detected the dEAAT transcripts in the midline glia in late embryos and dEAAT2 in a few peripheral neurons in head sensory organs [3].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Eaat2

• The developmental expression pattern of the two Drosophila EAAT genes has been compared by Northern blot analysis and whole-mount in situ hybridizations [4].

References