Research by scientists from Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College has shown how a protein transforms its shape to transport ions and molecules across the cell membrane, allowing it to regulate transmission of the brain’s messages across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another.

The transporter proteins work by forming passageways in a manner the researchers liken to gates opening and closing.

Because widely used medications for depression modulate this transport process by binding to the transporters, the new findings help explain how the medications work, and the way in which stimulants like cocaine and amphetamine produce their effects.

The researchers looked at transporter proteins in the family of Na+ symporters, which remove neurotransmitters from the synapse in a process called reuptake that is essential to the proper function of neural transmission. Antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft, which are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and cocaine interfere with the reuptake mechanism and alter the normal exchange process between cells.

This new understanding should also prove useful in the development of more targeted medication therapies for anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and substance abuse.

More info: New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College