HIGH-AFFINITY CHOLINE TRANSPORTER

摘要

The present invention provides a protein having high-affinity choline transporter activity which is importantphysiologically, a gene encoding the protein, and a method ofscreening a material promoting the high-affinity cholinetransporter activity with the use of the same, and the like.By examining high-affinity choline uptake activity of Na+-dependent transporter cDNA deduced from the genomic sequenceof a nematode (C. elegans) in a Xenopus oocyte expression system,the cDNA (cho-1) of nematode high-affinity choline transporteris identified. Then the cDNA (CHT1) of rat high-affinity cholinetransporter is cloned from rat spinal cord by using the homologyof a base sequence to this cDNA as an index. Similarly, thecDNA of human high-affinity choline transporter is cloned fromhuman genome.