Solute Carrier Family 41, Member 1 (SLC41A1)

SLC41A1 has 10 transmembrane domains, an extracellular N terminus, and 2 domains similar to the integral membrane part of the MgtE family of prokaryote Mg(2+) transporters. Northern blot analysis detected a 5-kb transcript expressed abundantly in heart and testis, moderately in skeletal muscle, prostate, adrenal gland, and thyroid, and weakly in all other tissues examined, including hematopoietic tissues. Slc41a1 expressed in Xenopus oocytes mediated saturable Mg(2+) uptake that was rheogenic, voltage dependent, and not coupled to Na+ or Cl-. Slc41a1 also transported Mg(2+), Sr(2+), Zn(2+), Cu(2+), Fe(2+), Co(2+), Ba(2+), and Cd(2+). The nonselective cation La(3+) abolished Mg(2+) uptake. Expression of Slc41a1 mRNA was upregulated in kidney, colon, and heart in mice placed on a low magnesium diet.