The
dopamine transporter (also
dopamine active transporter,
DAT,
SLC6A3) is a membrane-spanning protein that pumps the
neurotransmitter dopamine out of the synapse back into
cytosol, from which other transporters sequester DA and NE into vesicles for later storage and release. Dopamine reuptake via DAT provides the primary mechanism through which dopamine is cleared from
synapses, although there may be an exception in the prefrontal cortex, where evidence points to a possibly larger role of the
norepinephrine transporter. DAT is implicated in a number of dopamine-related disorders, including
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
bipolar disorder,
clinical depression, and
alcoholism. The
gene that encodes the DAT protein is located on human chromosome 5, consists of 15 coding
exons, and is roughly 64
kbp long. Evidence for the associations between DAT and dopamine related disorders has come from a type of
genetic polymorphism, known as a
VNTR, in the DAT gene (
DAT1), which influences the amount of protein expressed.