Vesicular acetylcholine transporter

Solute carrier family 18 (vesicular acetylcholine transporter), member 3
Identifiers
Symbols	SLC18A3 ; VACHT
External IDs	OMIM: 600336 HomoloGene: 11022 GeneCards: SLC18A3 Gene
Gene ontology Molecular function • acetylcholine transmembrane transporter activity Cellular component • plasma membrane • integral component of plasma membrane • membrane • terminal bouton • clathrin-sculpted acetylcholine transport vesicle membrane Biological process • synaptic transmission • neurotransmitter secretion • acetylcholine transport • ammonium transmembrane transport Sources: Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
Species	Human	Mouse
Entrez	6572	20508
Ensembl	ENSG00000187714	ENSMUSG00000100241
UniProt	Q16572	n/a
RefSeq (mRNA)	NM_003055	NM_021712
RefSeq (protein)	NP_003046	NP_068358
Location (UCSC)	Chr 10: 49.61 – 49.61 Mb	Chr 14: 32.46 – 32.46 Mb
PubMed search	[1]	[2]

The Vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) is a neurotransmitter transporter which is responsible for loading acetylcholine (ACh) into secretory organelles in neurons making acetylcholine available for secretion. It is encoded by Solute carrier family 18, member 3 (SLC18A3) gene. VAChT is able to transport ACh into vesicles by relying on an exchange between protons that were previously pumped into the vesicle diffusing out. ACh molecules are then carried into the cell by the action of exiting protons. Acetylcholine transport utilizes a proton gradient established by a vacuolar ATPase. This gene is located within the first intron of the choline acetyltransferase gene.

VAChT uptake inhibitors

Radiolabeled compounds

PET imaging of the VAChT may provide insights into early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

• (−)-trans-2-Hydroxy-3-(4-(4-[¹⁸F]fluorobenzoyl)piperidino)tetralin; racemate: Ki = 2.70 nM for VAChT, 191 nM for σ1, and 251 nM for σ2

External links

• Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)