Protein Interactions of the Vesicular Glutamate Transporter VGLUT1

Exocytotic release of glutamate depends upon loading of the neurotransmitter into synaptic vesicles by vesicular glutamate transporters, VGLUTs. The major isoforms, VGLUT1 and 2, exhibit a complementary pattern of expression in synapses of the adult rodent brain that correlates with the probability of release and potential for plasticity. Indeed, expression of different VGLUT protein isoforms confers different properties of release probability. Expression of VGLUT1 or 2 protein also determines the kinetics of synaptic vesicle recycling. To identify molecular determinants that may be related to reported differences in VGLUT trafficking and glutamate release properties, we investigated some of the intrinsic differences between the two isoforms. VGLUT1 and 2 exhibit a high degree of sequence homology, but differ in their N- and C-termini. While the C-termini of VGLUT1 and 2 share a dileucine-like trafficking motif and a proline-, glutamate-, serine-, and threonine-rich PEST domain, only VGLUT1 contains two polyproline domains and a phosphorylation consensus sequence in a region of acidic amino acids. The interaction of a VGLUT1 polyproline domain with the endocytic protein endophilin recruits VGLUT1 to a fast recycling pathway. To identify trans-acting cellular proteins that interact with the distinct motifs found in the C-terminus of VGLUT1, we performed a series of in vitro biochemical screening assays using the region encompassing the polyproline motifs, phosphorylation consensus sites, and PEST domain. We identify interactors that belong to several classes of proteins that modulate cellular function, including actin cytoskeletal adaptors, ubiquitin ligases, and tyrosine kinases. The nature of these interactions suggests novel avenues to investigate the modulation of synaptic vesicle protein recycling.