Solute Carrier Family 16, Member 1 (SLC16A1)

SLC16A1 mediates the movement of lactate and pyruvate across cell membranes Import and export of these substrates by tissues such as erythrocytes, muscle, intestine, and kidney are ascribed largely to the action of a proton-coupled MCT. The corresponding cDNA was isolated by an expression cloning strategy and found to encode a protein with 12 putative membrane-spanning regions. The cloned mutant 'mevalonate transporter' differed from its wildtype progenitor by 1 amino acid in the tenth membrane-spanning region, which changed a phenylalanine (wildtype) to a cysteine (mutant). The finding that the wildtype cDNA did not elicit increased mevalonate transport in transfected cells suggested that the wildtype protein is a transporter for a molecule other than mevalonate.