Cloning and expression of a glycine transporter from mouse brain

We have isolated a cDNA clone from a mouse brain library encoding the glycine transporter (GLYT). Xenopus oocytes injected with a synthetic mRNA accumulated [³H]glycine to levels of up to 80-fold above control values. The uptake was specific for glycine and dependent on the presence of Na⁺ and Cl^- in the medium. The cDNA sequence predicts a highly hydrophobic protein of 633 amino acids with 12 potential transmembrane helices. The predicted amino acid sequence has 40-45% identity to the GABA, noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine transporters. This implies that all of these neurotransmitter, transporters may have evolved from a common ancestral gene that diverged into the GABA, glycine and catecholamine subfamilies at nearly the same time.