Solute Carrier Family 41, Member 3 (SLC41A3)

By searching a database for sequences similar to SLC41A1, Wabakken et al. (2003) identified SLC41A3. The deduced protein contains 507 amino acids.The International Radiation Hybrid Mapping Consortium mapped the SLC41A3 gene to chromosome 3.

Slc41a1 expressed in Xenopus oocytes mediated saturable Mg(2+) uptake that was rheogenic, voltage dependent, and not coupled to Na+ or Cl-. Slc41a1 also transported Mg(2+), Sr(2+), Zn(2+), Cu(2+), Fe(2+), Co(2+), Ba(2+), and Cd(2+). The nonselective cation La(3+) abolished Mg(2+) uptake. Expression of Slc41a1 mRNA was upregulated in kidney, colon, and heart in mice placed on a low magnesium diet.