Localisation of novel forms of glutamate transporters and the cystine-glutamate antiporter in the choroid plexus: Implications for CSF glutamate homeostasis

Abstract

The choroid plexus is a structure within each ventricle of the brain that is composed of fenestrated vessels surrounded by secretory epithelial cells. The epithelial cells are linked by tight junctions to create a permeability barrier. The epithelial cells are derived from neuroectoderm, and are thus defined by some authors as a subtype of macroglia. Glutamate is a tightly regulated substance in the CSF, as it is in the rest of the brain. In the brain macroglia express multiple sodium dependent and independent glutamate transporters and are the main regulators of extracellular glutamate. However, the identities of the transporters in the choroid plexus and their localisations have remained poorly defined. In this study we examined the expression and distribution of multiple splice variants of classical sodium-dependent glutamate transporters, as well as the cystine-glutamate antiporter, and the PDZ protein NHERF1, (which acts as a molecular anchor for proteins such as the glutamate transporter GLAST). We identified three forms of sodium-dependent transporters (GLAST1a, GLAST1c and GLT1b) that are expressed at the apical surface of the epithelial cells, a location that matches the distribution of NHERF1 and the cystine-glutamate antiporter. We propose that this coincident localisation of GLAST1a/GLAST1c/GLT1b and the cystine-glutamate antiporter would permit the cyclical trafficking of glutamate and thus optimise the accumulation of cystine for the formation of glutathione in the choroid plexus.