TALKEETNA, Al. (KTUU) - A cat named Stubbs has been the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska for nearly all of his life. It's been that way for more than a decade in the small tourist town that boasts nearly 900 residents.
DAT is an integral membrane protein that removes dopamine from the synaptic cleft and deposits it into surrounding cells, thus terminating the signal of the neurotransmitter. Dopamine underlies several aspects of cognition, including reward, and DAT facilitates regulation of that signal.
DAT is a symporter that moves dopamine across the cell membrane by coupling the movement to the energetically-favorable movement of sodium ions moving from high to low concentration into the cell. DAT function requires the sequential binding and co-transport of two Na+ ions and one Clâ ion with the dopamine substrate.