γ-Aminobutyric acid transporters as relevant biological target: Their function, structure, inhibitors and role in the therapy of different diseases

gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system. It plays a crucial role in many physiological processes. Upon release from the presynaptic element, it is removed from the synaptic cleft by reuptake due to the action of GABA transporters (GATs). GATs belong to a large SLC6 protein family whose characteristic feature is sodium-dependent relocation of neurotransmitters through the cell membrane. GABA transporters are characterized in many contexts, but their spatial structure is not fully known. They are divided into four types, which differ in occurrence and role. Herein, the special attention was paid to these transporting proteins. This comprehensive review presents the current knowledge about GABA transporters. Their distribu-tion in the body, physiological functions and possible utilization in the therapy of different diseases were fully discussed. The important structural features were described based on published data, including sequence analy-sis, mutagenesis studies, and comparison with known SLC6 transporters for leucine (LeuT), dopamine (DAT) and serotonin (SERT). Moreover, the most important inhibitors of GABA transporters of various basic scaffolds, di-verse selectivity and potency were presented. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).