Solute Carrier Family 16, Member 8 (SLC16A8)

SLC16A8 is a member of a family of proton-coupled monocarboxylate transporters that mediate lactate transport across cell membranes .The deduced 504-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 52.3 kD. MCT3 has 12 putative transmembrane domains and a long cytoplasmic loop between transmembrane domains 6 and 7. MCT3 shares 85% and 62% identity with rat and chicken Mct3, respectively, and highest similarity is in the transmembrane region. PCR analysis detected MCT3 in RPE RNA, but not in neural retina RNA, suggesting that in human, as in chicken and rat, the expression of MCT3 is restricted to RPE.