Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter (VAChT, SLC18A3) belongs to the solute carrier family 18 (SLC18) family of proton/neurotransmitter antiporters and shares a high degree of homology to vesicular monoamine transporters (VMATs). It is a 12-transmembrane domain protein. VAChT is expressed in all major cholinergic neurons in the central and peripheral nervous system and is mainly localized in small synaptic vesicles in cholinergic nerve terminals.
Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter (VAChT), is required in cholinergic neurons for the selective transport of acetylcholine (ACh) into synaptic vesicles. It depends on the activity of a vacuolar-type H+ -ATPase to accumulate ACh in synaptic vesicles. Knockdown of VAChT in the hippocampus has been shown to cause behavior changes, learning deficits, specific deficits in spatial memory and long-term potentiation (LTP). VAChT provides a specific marker for cholinergic neurons, for the study of cholinergic transmission in experimental models of Alzheimer′s disease and other nervous system disorders. Cloning of the VAChT gene has revealed a single genetic locus encoding both VAChT and ChAT, providing a unique genomic arrangement suggesting that these genes may be co-regulated.
