Crystal structure of a bacterial homologue of Na+/Cl--dependent neurotransmitter transporters

The present invention relates to three dimensional structural models of the LeuTAa transporter, and, in particular, the modeled sites of these proteins. The structural information of the present invention may be used for the rational design of compounds which act as modulators of the LeuTAa transporter and its eukaryotic counterparts. The present invention further provides for actual or virtual screening assays which may be used to identify compounds having such modulator activities, or to confirm the activity of designed compounds.