Solute Carrier Family 35, Member D2 (SLC35D2)

SLC35D2 transported UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc), UDP-glucose, and GDP-mannose, with UDP-GlcNAc being the preferred substrate. SLC35D2 did not transport GDP-mannose following transfection in human colon carcinoma cells. Overexpression of SLC35D2 affected the heparan sulfate on the cell surface of the mammalian cells.

The deduced protein contains 10 transmembrane segments with cytosolic N and C termini. Northern blot analysis detected a 2.0-kb transcript. Highest expression was in liver, followed by heart, kidney, small intestine, placenta, lung, and peripheral blood leukocytes. Much lower expression was detected in skeletal muscle and spleen, and no expression was found in brain, colon, and thymus.