What does VMAT2 stand for?
vesicular monoamine transporter 2
The vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) is an integral presynaptic protein that regulates the packaging and subsequent release of dopamine and other monoamines from neuronal vesicles into the synapse.
What is the VMAT2 gene?
The God gene hypothesis proposes that human spirituality is influenced by heredity and that a specific gene, called vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), predisposes humans towards spiritual or mystic experiences.
What are VMAT2 inhibitors?
Vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitors, which deplete dopamine at presynaptic striatal nerve terminals, are a class of drugs that have long been used to treat hyperkinetic movement disorders, but have recently gained more attention following their development for specific indications in the United States.
What type of transporter is VMAT?
The vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT) is a membrane-embedded protein that transports monoamine neurotransmitter molecules into intraneuronal storage vesicles to allow subsequent release into the synapse.
What does the VMAT do?
Vesicular monoamine transporters (VMAT) are responsible for the uptake of cytosolic monoamines into synaptic vesicles in monoaminergic neurons. Two closely related VMATs with distinct pharmacological properties and tissue distributions have been characterized.
Where is VMAT2 located?
Chemical neuroanatomy of VMAT2-expressing central neurons VMAT2 is expressed in all monoaminergic neurons of the brain, including those expressing dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (EPI), and histamine (HIS).
How do VMAT2 inhibitors work?
VMAT2 inhibitors block VMAT2 causing dopamine depletion in the central nervous system. VMAT2 is a protein that controls the amount of dopamine stored in the nerve cells and the amount released. Inhibiting VMAT2 leads to a lower amount of available dopamine, thereby reducing unwanted body movements.
How do genetics work?
Genetics is the scientific study of genes and heredity—of how certain qualities or traits are passed from parents to offspring as a result of changes in DNA sequence. A gene is a segment of DNA that contains instructions for building one or more molecules that help the body work.
What blocks VMAT?
By acting as a competitive antagonist, methamphetamine blocks the presynaptic cell’s ability to use VMAT for vesicular packaging.
What is VMAT dopamine?
VMAT1 and VMAT2 are acidic glycoproteins with a molecular weight of approximately 70 kDa. Both isoforms are transmembrane proteins with 12 transmembrane domains (TMDs). VMATs function by loading monoamines—dopamine, serotonin, histamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine—into transport vesicles.
Why is VMAT2 important?
The primary importance of VMAT2 in monoamine storage and release in the central nervous system provided a strong rationale for examination of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in both coding and noncoding regions of VMAT2 that might be linked to psychiatric and neurological diseases in which monoamines are …
What blocks Vmat?
What are VMAT1 and VMAT2?
VMAT1 and VMAT2 (SLC18A1 and SLC18A2, see Eiden, Schafer, Weihe, and Schutz, 2004) are the two vesicular monoamine transporters (VMATs) in mammals ( Erickson, Eiden, & Hoffman, 1992; Liu et al., 1992 ).
What is a VMAT2 inhibitor?
VMAT2 inhibitors (vesicular monoamine transporter-2 inhibitors) are used to treat movement disorders such as Huntington’s disease or tardive dyskinesia.
What is the “God gene” (VMAT2)?
What is the “God” (VMAT2) gene? VMAT2 is a neurotransmitter transporter encoded by the SLC18A2 (solute carrier family 18 member A2) gene. It has also been dubbed the “God gene” due to its reported association with spirituality. In a 2004 book by Dean Hammer, the VMAT2 gene was hypothesized to be the hereditary influence towards spirituality.
How does VMAT2 protect cells from oxidative stress from oxidized monoamines?
This packaging up of the monoamine neurotransmitters is essential because monoamines are prone to oxidation in the cell. Thus, VMAT2 protects cells from oxidative stress from oxidized monoamines.