Sideroflexin 3 (SFXN3)

Sfxn3, a member of sideroflexin family. CTPL/Sfxn3 was targeted to mitochondrial membrane like Sfxn1. The expression levels of CTPL/Sfxn3, Sfxn2, and Sfxn5 were upregulated in the early phase of differentiation into insulin-secreting cells but the expression levels of Sfxn1 and Sfxn3 did not change. All Sfxn family members were expressed in rat pancreatic islet. The expression levels of CTPL/Sfxn3, Sfxn2, and Sfxn5 were also upregulated in islets of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats compared to normal rats. The downregulation of CTPL/Sfxn3 in a rat insulinoma cell line, INS-1, with the antisense oligonucleotide did not affect the insulin secretion. Taken together, CTPL/Sfxn3 and some other family members might be important in the differentiation of pancreatic beta-cells as a channel or a carrier molecule and be related to the regeneration of pancreatic endocrine cells.