Monocarboxylate Transporters: Novel Roles of Emerging Transport Proteins | Dr. Marilyn Morris

Transporter-related proteins include the SoLute Carrier (SLC) transporters superfamily, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, channels and pumps. Despite growth of the field of transporter biology, more than half of the members of transporter families have little information available about their endogenous substrate(s) or physiological functions. Transporter biochemistry is now revealing emerging roles for these membrane proteins. One family of SLC transporters of current interest is the 14-member SLC16 family of monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs); these transporters play a fundamental role in maintaining intracellular concentrations of a broad range of important endogenous molecules in health and disease. Members of the family are essential for the transport of monocarboxylates, cell nutrients, amino acids, and hormones, and are of interest as potential therapeutic targets in health and disease. MCTs 1, 2, and 4 (L-lactate transporters) are overexpressed in cancers and represent a novel therapeutic target in cancer. Other MCT isoforms are less well characterized, but recent studies have highlighted the importance of other members of the MCT family in glucose, lipid, and hormone homeostasis, including MCT8 in thyroid hormone brain uptake, MCT12 in carnitine transport, and MCT11 as a novel type 2 diabetes risk gene. Additionally, ongoing studies indicate that MCT6 transports xenobiotics such as bumetanide, nateglinide, and probenecid, whereas MCT7 has been characterized as a transporter of ketone bodies. This webinar will focus on novel functions of members of the SLC16 family.