Copper Transporter 1 (COPT1)

Copper is an element essential for life, but excessive copper can be toxic or even lethal to the cell. Therefore, cells have developed sophisticated ways to maintain a critical copper balance, with the intake, export, and intracellular compartmentalization or buffering of copper strictly regulated.The deduced 190-amino acid human CTR1 protein is similar to yeast CTR1 and Arabidopsis COPT1, a copper transporter also isolated by functional complementation of yeast ctr1. All 3 predicted proteins have 3 transmembrane domains and an N terminus that is rich in methionine and serine residues; the N terminus of human CTR1 is also abundant in histidines. Northern blot analysis detected 2 major CTR1 transcripts of approximately 2 kb and 5.5 kb and a less abundant transcript of about 8.5 kb in all human organs and tissues examined.