Zinc transporter 4

Author:Prof. Dr. med. Peter Altmeyer

All authors of this article

Last updated on: 29.10.2020

Dieser Artikel auf Deutsch

Synonym(s)

Zinc transporter 4; ZnT 4

Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please login to access all articles, images, and functions.

Our content is available exclusively to medical professionals. If you have already registered, please login. If you haven't, you can register for free (medical professionals only).


Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please complete your registration to access all articles and images.

To gain access, you must complete your registration. You either haven't confirmed your e-mail address or we still need proof that you are a member of the medical profession.

Finish your registration now

DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.

Intracellular zinc homeostasis is regulated by zinc-binding proteins and zinc transporters (Rink et al. 2007). The zinc transporters are encoded by two SLC ("solute linked carrier") gene families:

  • Members of the SLC39 family (Zip, "Zrt- and Irt-like proteins") increase the cytoplasmic zinc level by zinc uptake.
  • Members of the SLC30 family (ZnT, zinc transporter/exporter; CDF family, cation diffusion facilitator) lower intracellular zinc concentrations by transporting zinc out of the cell or into vesicular structures.

So far, 15 Zips and 9 ZnTs have been detected in various human cells.

The zinc transporter 4, ZnT-4, is expressed in intracellular vesicles. Besides expression in the kidney and intestine, this transporter is mainly found in the brain and the breast epithelium. In the mammary glands it regulates the zinc concentration in milk.

A mutation in the coding ZnT-4 gene leads to the phenotype of the so-called lethal milk mouse, in which the maternal milk does not contain enough zinc - comparable to the missense mutation in the ZnT-2 gene (Michalczyk et al. 2002). While the mRNA of ZnT-4 is not subject to changes in the liver, intestine and kidney of rats after increased oral zinc administration, it is induced in the mammary gland under zinc deficiency conditions.

LiteratureThis section has been translated automatically.

  1. Good RA et al (1982) Zinc and Immunity. Clin. Biochem. Nutr Aspect Trace Elem 6: 189-202.4
  2. Michalczyk AA et al. (2002) Constitutive expression of hZnT4 zinc transporter in human breast epithelial cells. Biochem J 364: 105-113.
  3. Overbeck S (2008) The regulation of zinc transporters and their influence on intracellular zinc homeostasis in leukocytes. Dissertation. Publication server of RWTH Aachen University
  4. Rink L et al (2001) Extracellular and immunological actions of zinc. Biometals 14: 367-383.
  5. Rink L et al (2007) Zinc homeostasis and immunity. Trends Immunol 28: 1-4.
  6. Suzuki T et al (2005) Zinc transporters, ZnT5 and ZnT7, are required for the activation of alkaline phosphatases, zinc-requiring enzymes that are glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored to the cytoplasmic membrane. J Biol Chem 280: 637-643.
  7. Telford WG (1997) A reappraisal of the role of zinc in life and death decisions of cells. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol Med 215: 229-236.
  8. Wenzel HJ et all. (1997) Ultrastructural localization of zinc transporter-3 (ZnT-3) to synaptic vesicle membranes within mossy fiber boutons in the hippocampus of mouse and monkey. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94: 12676-12681.

Authors

Last updated on: 29.10.2020