# What does TAT-DATNT refer to in peptide research? Updated 2026-10-16. TAT-DATNT is a lab-made peptide with two parts. One part is a short cell-entry piece derived from the TAT protein. The other part is the very start of the dopamine transporter, a protein that pulls dopamine back into nerve cells. Lai and colleagues studied it in rats in a 2018 paper. That paper prints two different sequences, so its exact make-up is uncertain. | | | | --- | --- | | Research name | TAT-DATNT; also written TAT-DAT with NT as a subscript | | DAT | Dopamine transporter | | NT | N-terminus: the beginning of a protein chain | | Named paper | Lai et al., Molecular Brain, 2018;11:66 | | Sequence record | Methods and discussion disagree (Lai et al., 2018) | Every nerve cell in your brain has to tidy up after it sends a message. If old messages hung around, new ones would be hard to pick out, like trying to hear one friend in a room where everybody keeps talking. Dopamine, one of those chemical messengers, has its own clean-up crew. Scientists want to know which nearby proteins steer that crew. This page in [the peptide science hub](/learn/peptide-science) looks at one tool built for that question. The name looks like a jumble of letters, but it hides a simple question. What happens when one protein can no longer touch its neighbour? TAT-DATNT was built to ask that. It is a made-up molecule, not a complete chain your brain makes on its own. ## What sequence does TAT-DATNT refer to? The paper that names TAT-DATNT gives two different versions of its sequence. A sequence is the order of the building blocks, called amino acids, written as one letter each. The methods section prints YGRKKRRQRRRMSKSKCSVGLMSSVV. The discussion section gives the transporter part as MSKSKCSVGPMSSVV. The two versions differ at one spot in the transporter part: an L in one, a P in the other. The paper does not say which version matches the material it tested. So both are reported here. A short name alone cannot prove what a molecule is. [Peptide identity testing](/learn/peptide-quality-verification/how-mass-spectrometry-confirms-peptide-identity) explains why a name and a measured identity are different kinds of evidence. ## Why study contact between DAT and the dopamine D2 receptor? Researchers study this contact because the dopamine D2 receptor can control DAT by touching it, not only by sending a chemical message. A receptor is a protein that receives a signal. A transporter is a protein that carries a substance across the cell's outer skin, called the membrane. Lee and colleagues reported in 2007 that the touch helped bring DAT to the cell surface. That is where reuptake happens: moving released dopamine back inside the nerve cell. The work used laboratory systems and mice. It shows that where a protein sits can matter as much as whether it is there at all. The touch involved the start of DAT, called its N-terminus, and a loop of the D2 receptor that faces into the cell. A short fragment that competes for the same contact gives researchers a way to study it. [The peptide and protein guide](/learn/peptide-science/peptide-vs-protein) explains why a fragment and its parent protein are different things. ## What does the TAT part of the name mean? The TAT part is a short region derived from the Tat protein of HIV-1, studied because it can get into cells. Vivès and colleagues tested Tat fragments on cells grown in a dish in 1997. They linked the uptake to a stretch rich in basic amino acids, building blocks with a particular chemical character. A piece of a viral protein is not a whole virus. In the design, the two parts have different jobs. The TAT part is the cell-entry piece, and the DAT part is the research fragment attached to it. [The introduction to peptides](/learn/peptide-science/what-are-peptides) explains how short chains can form parts of larger research constructs. ![A short beaded chain in two halves joined end to end, pointing toward the edge of a cell. Labels read Entry part, Research fragment and Cell membrane.](/assets/content/edu-two-part-peptide-entry-tag.png) The construct joins a cell-entry part from the HIV-1 Tat protein to a fragment from the start of the dopamine transporter. Vivès and colleagues linked Tat uptake to a region rich in basic amino acids (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1997). ## Does a cell-entry label prove that a peptide reaches its target? No. A cell-entry label does not prove that the attached fragment reaches a working target inside the cell. Richard and colleagues found in 2003 that fixing cells, a way of preserving them for study, could produce misleading pictures of uptake for Tat-related peptides. In living cells, what they saw pointed to endocytosis: the cell wraps material in small pockets of its membrane and pulls it in. Sitting inside a pocket is not the same as reaching a protein elsewhere in the cell. These tests used other Tat constructs, not TAT-DATNT. They give a warning about measurement, not a direct test. Getting into a cell and reaching a target are two separate questions, and each needs its own evidence. One bright picture cannot answer both. The same care applies to [reading research quality records](/learn/peptide-quality-verification): a record must support the exact claim being made, not stand in for a different measurement. ## What does the TAT-DATNT name fail to establish? The TAT-DATNT name does not establish a human treatment, a safety record, or one verified sequence for every item that carries the label. Each of those is a separate claim that needs its own evidence. A short name can point to a research idea without proving that all material described by it is the same. In the same way, a touch between two proteins does not on its own explain a person's attention or behaviour. The papers cited here do not establish any clinical outcome for TAT-DATNT. The useful conclusion is narrower: the name points to research on a protein contact involved in how nerve cells handle dopamine. ## Comparison The two parts named in TAT-DATNT, compared by where each comes from, its role in the design and the letters printed in the 2018 paper. | Part | Where it comes from | Role in the design | Letters in the paper | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TAT part | A short region of the HIV-1 Tat protein | Cell-entry piece | YGRKKRRQRRR, at the start of the methods sequence | | DAT part (DATNT) | The beginning, or N-terminus, of the dopamine transporter | Research fragment used to study the contact with the D2 receptor | MSKSKCSVGLMSSVV in the methods; MSKSKCSVGPMSSVV in the discussion | ## Frequently asked questions ### Is TAT-DATNT dopamine? No. TAT-DATNT is a peptide construct, not dopamine. DAT is the protein that carries dopamine back into nerve cells. DATNT names a fragment from the beginning of that protein, as described by Lai and colleagues in 2018. ### Does NT mean a separate brain chemical? No. NT stands for N-terminus, the beginning of a protein chain. The term marks a region of DAT, not a separate brain chemical. Lee and colleagues used it this way in their 2007 work on DAT. ### Does TAT make every attached peptide enter cells in the same way? No. A TAT label does not establish one entry route for every peptide. Richard and colleagues showed in 2003 why the state of the cells and the measuring method both matter when judging uptake of Tat-related peptides. ## Citations - Lai TKY, Su P, Zhang H, et al.. Molecular Brain. 2018;11:66. DOI: 10.1186/s13041-018-0409-0 - Lee FJS, Pei L, Moszczynska A, et al.. The EMBO Journal. 2007;26(8):2127-2136. DOI: 10.1038/sj.emboj.7601656 - Vivès E, Brodin P, Lebleu B. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1997;272(25):16010-16017. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.272.25.16010 - Richard JP, Melikov K, Vives E, et al.. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2003;278(1):585-590. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M209548200 [Explore peptide science](/learn/peptide-science) --- Canonical page: https://www.formlaboratories.com/learn/peptide-science/what-is-tat-datnt Form Laboratories - Perth-based research-use-only peptide supplier, shipping Australia-wide. - Site guide for agents: https://www.formlaboratories.com/llms.txt - Sitemap: https://www.formlaboratories.com/sitemap.xml - Full catalogue: https://www.formlaboratories.com/shop - Contact: hello@formlaboratories.com All materials are supplied for laboratory research use only - not for human or veterinary use, and nothing on this site is medical advice.