L. Keith Henry

1. Ansar M, Ranza E, Shetty M, Paracha SA, Azam M, Kern I, Iwaszkiewicz J, Farooq O, Pournaras CJ, Malcles A, Kecik M, Rivolta C, Muzaffar W, Qurban A, Ali L, Aggoun Y, Santoni FA, Makrythanasis P, Ahmed J, Qamar R, Sarwar MT, Henry LK, Antonarakis SE. Taurine treatment of retinal degeneration and cardiomyopathy in a consanguineous family with SLC6A6 taurine transporter deficiency. Hum Mol Genet. England; 2020 Mar 13;29(4):618–623. PMCID: PMC7068170
2. Becker JM, Henry LK, Jiang W, Koltin Y. Reduced virulence of Candida albicans mutants affected in multidrug resistance. Infect Immun. United States; 1995 Nov;63(11):4515–4518. PMCID: PMC173643
3. Beckman ML, Pramod AB, Perley D, Henry LK. Stereoselective inhibition of serotonin transporters by antimalarial compounds. Neurochem Int. England; 2014 July;73:98–106. PMCID: PMC5553891
4. Bowton E, Saunders C, Reddy IA, Campbell NG, Hamilton PJ, Henry LK, Coon H, Sakrikar D, Veenstra-VanderWeele JM, Blakely RD, Sutcliffe J, Matthies HJG, Erreger K, Galli A. SLC6A3 coding variant Ala559Val found in two autism probands alters dopamine transporter function and trafficking. Transl Psychiatry. United States; 2014 Oct 14;4(10):e464. PMCID: PMC4350523
5. Bulawa CE, Miller DW, Henry LK, Becker JM. Attenuated virulence of chitin-deficient mutants of Candida albicans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. United States; 1995 Nov 7;92(23):10570–10574. PMCID: PMC40653
6. Dahal RA, Pramod AB, Sharma B, Krout D, Foster JD, Cha JH, Cao J, Newman AH, Lever JR, Vaughan RA, Henry LK. Computational and biochemical docking of the irreversible cocaine analog RTI 82 directly demonstrates ligand positioning in the dopamine transporter central substrate-binding site. J Biol Chem. United States; 2014 Oct 24;289(43):29712–29727. PMCID: PMC4207985
7. Felts B, Pramod AB, Sandtner W, Burbach N, Bulling S, Sitte HH, Henry LK. The two Na+ sites in the human serotonin transporter play distinct roles in the ion coupling and electrogenicity of transport. J Biol Chem. United States; 2014 Jan 17;289(3):1825–1840. PMCID: PMC3894358
8. Field JR, Henry LK, Blakely RD. Transmembrane domain 6 of the human serotonin transporter contributes to an aqueously accessible binding pocket for serotonin and the psychostimulant 3,4-methylene dioxymethamphetamine. J Biol Chem. United States; 2010 Apr 9;285(15):11270–11280. PMCID: PMC2857005
9. Gaffaney JD, Shetty M, Felts B, Pramod AB, Foster JD, Henry LK, Vaughan RA. Antagonist-induced conformational changes in dopamine transporter extracellular loop two involve residues in a potential salt bridge. Neurochem Int. England; 2014 July;73:16–26. PMCID: PMC4394652
10. Henry LK, Adkins EM, Han Q, Blakely RD. Serotonin and cocaine-sensitive inactivation of human serotonin transporters by methanethiosulfonates targeted to transmembrane domain I. J Biol Chem. United States; 2003 Sept 26;278(39):37052–37063. PMID: 12869570
11. Henry LK, Blakely RD. Distinctions between dopamine transporter antagonists could be just around the bend. Mol Pharmacol. Netherlands; 2008 Mar;73(3):616–618. PMID: 18156312
12. Henry LK, DeFelice LJ, Blakely RD. Getting the message across: a recent transporter structure shows the way. Neuron. United States; 2006 Mar 16;49(6):791–796. PMID: 16543127
13. Henry LK, Field JR, Adkins EM, Parnas ML, Vaughan RA, Zou MF, Newman AH, Blakely RD. Tyr-95 and Ile-172 in transmembrane segments 1 and 3 of human serotonin transporters interact to establish high affinity recognition of antidepressants. J Biol Chem. United States; 2006 Jan 27;281(4):2012–2023. PMID: 16272152
14. Henry LK, Iwamoto H, Field JR, Kaufmann K, Dawson ES, Jacobs MT, Adams C, Felts B, Zdravkovic I, Armstrong V, Combs S, Solis EJ, Rudnick G, Noskov SY, DeFelice LJ, Meiler J, Blakely RD. A conserved asparagine residue in transmembrane segment 1 (TM1) of serotonin transporter dictates chloride-coupled neurotransmitter transport. J Biol Chem. United States; 2011 Sept 2;286(35):30823–30836. PMCID: PMC3162443
15. Henry LK, Khare S, Son C, Babu VVS, Naider F, Becker JM. Identification of a contact region between the tridecapeptide alpha-factor mating pheromone of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its G protein-coupled receptor by photoaffinity labeling. Biochemistry. United States; 2002 May 14;41(19):6128–6139. PMID: 11994008
16. Henry LK, Meiler J, Blakely RD. Bound to be different: neurotransmitter transporters meet their bacterial cousins. Mol Interv. United States; 2007 Dec;7(6):306–309. PMID: 18199851
17. Kaufmann KW, Dawson ES, Henry LK, Field JR, Blakely RD, Meiler J. Structural determinants of species-selective substrate recognition in human and Drosophila serotonin transporters revealed through computational docking studies. Proteins. United States; 2009 Feb 15;74(3):630–642. PMCID: PMC2782712
18. Krout D, Pramod AB, Dahal RA, Tomlinson MJ, Sharma B, Foster JD, Zou MF, Boatang C, Newman AH, Lever JR, Vaughan RA, Henry LK. Inhibitor mechanisms in the S1 binding site of the dopamine transporter defined by multi-site molecular tethering of photoactive cocaine analogs. Biochem Pharmacol. England; 2017 Oct 15;142:204–215. PMCID: PMC8475752
19. Krout D, Rodriquez M, Brose SA, Golovko MY, Henry LK, Thompson BJ. Inhibition of the Serotonin Transporter Is Altered by Metabolites of Selective Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors and Represents a Caution to Acute or Chronic Treatment Paradigms. ACS Chem Neurosci. United States; 2017 May 17;8(5):1011–1018. PMCID: PMC5437659
20. Kumar V, Yarravarapu N, Lapinsky DJ, Perley D, Felts B, Tomlinson MJ, Vaughan RA, Henry LK, Lever JR, Newman AH. Novel Azido-Iodo Photoaffinity Ligands for the Human Serotonin Transporter Based on the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (S)-Citalopram. J Med Chem. United States; 2015 July 23;58(14):5609–5619. PMCID: PMC4515784
21. Lay J, Henry LK, Clifford J, Koltin Y, Bulawa CE, Becker JM. Altered expression of selectable marker URA3 in gene-disrupted Candida albicans strains complicates interpretation of virulence studies. Infect Immun. United States; 1998 Nov;66(11):5301–5306. PMCID: PMC108662
22. Liu S, Henry LK, Lee BK, Wang SH, Arshava B, Becker JM, Naider F. Position 13 analogs of the tridecapeptide mating pheromone from Saccharomyces cerevisiae: design of an iodinatable ligand for receptor binding. J Pept Res. Denmark; 2000 July;56(1):24–34. PMID: 10917454
23. Pramod AB, Foster J, Carvelli L, Henry LK. SLC6 transporters: structure, function, regulation, disease association and therapeutics. Mol Aspects Med. England; 2013 June;34(2–3):197–219. PMCID: PMC3602807
24. Quinlan MA, Krout D, Katamish RM, Robson MJ, Nettesheim C, Gresch PJ, Mash DC, Henry LK, Blakely RD. Human Serotonin Transporter Coding Variation Establishes Conformational Bias with Functional Consequences. ACS Chem Neurosci. United States; 2019 July 17;10(7):3249–3260. PMCID: PMC6640095
25. Richardson BD, Saha K, Krout D, Cabrera E, Felts B, Henry LK, Swant J, Zou MF, Newman AH, Khoshbouei H. Membrane potential shapes regulation of dopamine transporter trafficking at the plasma membrane. Nat Commun. England; 2016 Jan 25;7:10423. PMCID: PMC4737753
26. Sambo DO, Lin M, Owens A, Lebowitz JJ, Richardson B, Jagnarine DA, Shetty M, Rodriquez M, Alonge T, Ali M, Katz J, Yan L, Febo M, Henry LK, Bruijnzeel AW, Daws L, Khoshbouei H. The sigma-1 receptor modulates methamphetamine dysregulation of dopamine neurotransmission. Nat Commun. England; 2017 Dec 20;8(1):2228. PMCID: PMC5738444
27. Sealover NR, Felts B, Kuntz CP, Jarrard RE, Hockerman GH, Lamb PW, Barker EL, Henry LK. The external gate of the human and Drosophila serotonin transporters requires a basic/acidic amino acid pair for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) translocation and the induction of substrate efflux. Biochem Pharmacol. England; 2016 Nov 15;120:46–55. PMCID: PMC11851564
28. Simmler LD, Anacker AMJ, Levin MH, Vaswani NM, Gresch PJ, Nackenoff AG, Anastasio NC, Stutz SJ, Cunningham KA, Wang J, Zhang B, Henry LK, Stewart A, Veenstra-VanderWeele J, Blakely RD. Blockade of the 5-HT transporter contributes to the behavioural, neuronal and molecular effects of cocaine. Br J Pharmacol. England; 2017 Aug;174(16):2716–2738. PMCID: PMC5522997
29. Thompson BJ, Jessen T, Henry LK, Field JR, Gamble KL, Gresch PJ, Carneiro AM, Horton RE, Chisnell PJ, Belova Y, McMahon DG, Daws LC, Blakely RD. Transgenic elimination of high-affinity antidepressant and cocaine sensitivity in the presynaptic serotonin transporter. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. United States; 2011 Mar 1;108(9):3785–3790. PMCID: PMC3048100
30. Tomlinson MJ, Krout D, Pramod AB, Lever JR, Newman AH, Henry LK, Vaughan RA. Identification of the benztropine analog [(125)I]GA II 34 binding site on the human dopamine transporter. Neurochem Int. England; 2019 Feb;123:34–45. PMCID: PMC8295913
31. Ullah M, Rehman AU, Shetty M, Allen MD, Ullah E, Signorini SG, des Roziers CB, Grijalva RM, Rashid A, Munir A, Porretta AP, Valente EM, Agather AR, Dimopoulos I, Hufnagel RB, Malandain E, Coursimault J, Ansar M, Antonarakis SE, Superti-Furga A, Jan S, Brooks BP, Calzetti G, Guan B, Quinodoz M, Henry LK, Rivolta C. Early-Onset Retinopathy in Patients With Variants in SLC6A6 Leading to Impaired Taurine Transport. JAMA Ophthalmol. United States; 2025 Dec 4; PMCID: PMC12679424
32. Vaughan RA, Henry LK, Foster JD, Brown CR. Post-translational mechanisms in psychostimulant-induced neurotransmitter efflux. Adv Pharmacol. United States; 2024;99:1–33. PMID: 38467478

Vanderbilt University: Nashville, Tennessee
Faculty Instructor in the Department of Pharmacology

Vanderbilt University: Nashville, Tennessee
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Pharmacology

The University of Tennessee: Knoxville, Tennessee
Doctoral Degree in Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Biology

The University of Tennessee: Knoxville, Tennessee
B.S. in Cell Biology, May 1992

RESEARCH

In my lab, we use of pharmacology, biochemistry, computational, epigenetic and evolutionary methods to understand the physiological role of the sertotonin (SERT) and dopamine (DAT) transporters and their role in human health and disease. The scope of our studies spans from molecules to whole organisms.

Depression and Drug Abuse

SERT and DAT are inhibited by compounds such as antidepressants and drugs of abuse such as cocaine, amphetamine and ecstasy. We are studying how these clinically important drugs and other atypical drugs interact with the transporters at the molecular level.  This work has the potential to lead to real advances in novel drug development and pharmacological interventions.

Autism and SERT

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in human SERT have been shown to elevate transport function and have been linked to behavioral aspects of Autism Spectrum Disorder. We are working to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind the effects of these mutations.

Epigenetic Programming by Antidepressants

In addition to being a neurotransmitter, serotonin is a important molecule in animal development. As such, we are interested in that possibility that antidepressants can have epigenetic implications on anxiety, depression and other mood disorders.