Sodium/glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) also known as solute carrier family 5 member 1 is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respon ...
in humans that is encoded by the
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
which encodes the production of the SGLT1 protein to line the
absorptive cells in the
small intestine
The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through t ...
and the epithelial cells of the
kidney tubule
The nephron is the minute or microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney. It is composed of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule. The renal corpuscle consists of a tuft of capillaries called a glomerulus and a cup-shaped structure ca ...
s of the
nephron
The nephron is the minute or microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney. It is composed of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule. The renal corpuscle consists of a tuft of capillaries called a glomerulus and a cup-shaped structure ...
for the purpose of glucose uptake into cells.
Through the use of the sodium glucose cotransporter 1 protein, cells are able to obtain glucose which is further utilized to make and store energy for the cell.
Structure
The sodium glucose cotransporter 1 is classified as an
integral membrane protein
An integral, or intrinsic, membrane protein (IMP) is a type of membrane protein that is permanently attached to the biological membrane. All ''transmembrane proteins'' are IMPs, but not all IMPs are transmembrane proteins. IMPs comprise a sign ...
that is made up of 14
alpha-helices
The alpha helix (α-helix) is a common motif in the secondary structure of proteins and is a right hand-helix conformation in which every backbone N−H group hydrogen bonds to the backbone C=O group of the amino acid located four residues earli ...
constructed from the folding of 482-718 amino acid residues with both the
N and
C-terminal
The C-terminus (also known as the carboxyl-terminus, carboxy-terminus, C-terminal tail, C-terminal end, or COOH-terminus) is the end of an amino acid chain (protein or polypeptide), terminated by a free carboxyl group (-COOH). When the protein is ...
residing upon the extracellular side of the plasma membrane.
It is hypothesized that the protein contains
protein kinase A
In cell biology, protein kinase A (PKA) is a family of enzymes whose activity is dependent on cellular levels of cyclic AMP (cAMP). PKA is also known as cAMP-dependent protein kinase (). PKA has several functions in the cell, including regulatio ...
and
protein kinase C
In cell biology, Protein kinase C, commonly abbreviated to PKC (EC 2.7.11.13), is a family of protein kinase enzymes that are involved in controlling the function of other proteins through the phosphorylation of hydroxyl groups of serine and ...
phosphorylation sites, which serve to regulate the proteins conformational shape through phosphorylation of amino acids with
ATP
ATP may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Association of Tennis Professionals, men's professional tennis governing body
* American Technical Publishers, employee-owned publishing company
* ', a Danish pension
* Armenia Tree Project, non ...
.
Function
Glucose transporter
Glucose transporters are a wide group of membrane proteins that facilitate the transport of glucose across the plasma membrane, a process known as facilitated diffusion. Because glucose is a vital source of energy for all life, these transpor ...
s are integral
membrane protein
Membrane proteins are common proteins that are part of, or interact with, biological membranes. Membrane proteins fall into several broad categories depending on their location. Integral membrane proteins are a permanent part of a cell membrane ...
s that mediate the transport of
glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, usi ...
and structurally related substances across
cellular membranes. Two families of glucose transporter have been identified: the
facilitated diffusion
Facilitated diffusion (also known as facilitated transport or passive-mediated transport) is the process of spontaneous passive transport (as opposed to active transport) of molecules or ions across a biological membrane via specific transmem ...
glucose transporter family (GLUT family), also known as
uniporter
A uniporter is a membrane transport protein that transports a single species of substrate ( charged or uncharged) across a cell membrane. It may use either facilitated diffusion and transport along a diffusion gradient or transport against one w ...
s, and the sodium-dependent glucose transporter family (
SGLT family), also known as
cotransporter Cotransporters are a subcategory of membrane transport proteins (transporters) that couple the favorable movement of one molecule with its concentration gradient and unfavorable movement of another molecule against its concentration gradient. They e ...
s or
symporter
A symporter is an integral membrane protein that is involved in the transport of two (or more) different molecules across the cell membrane in the same direction. The symporter works in the plasma membrane and molecules are transported across the ...
s.
The ''SLC5A1'' gene encodes the sodium glucose cotransporter protein that is involved in the facilitated transport of glucose and
galactose
Galactose (, '' galacto-'' + '' -ose'', "milk sugar"), sometimes abbreviated Gal, is a monosaccharide sugar that is about as sweet as glucose, and about 65% as sweet as sucrose. It is an aldohexose and a C-4 epimer of glucose. A galactose molec ...
into
eukaryotic
Eukaryotes () are organisms whose cells have a nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the three domains of life. Bact ...
and
prokaryotic
A prokaryote () is a single-celled organism that lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. The word ''prokaryote'' comes from the Greek πρό (, 'before') and κάρυον (, 'nut' or 'kernel').Campbell, N. "Biology:Concepts & Connec ...
cells.
The role of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 1 is to absorb
D-glucose and
D-galactose from the
brush-border membrane of the small intestines, while also exchanging sodium ions and glucose from the tubule of the nephron.
The SGLT1 protein is able to uptake glucose through cellular membranes through coupling the energy generated from cotransporting 2 sodium ions with glucose through a symport mechanism.
This protein does not use ATP as energy source.
Transport mechanism
The sodium glucose cotransporter is original arranged with an outward-facing conformation with open receptors in preparation for 2 sodium ions and glucose to simultaneously bind.
Once bound, the protein receptor will change conformation to an occluded conformation, which prevents the dissociation of the sodium ions and glucose.
The protein will then change conformations once more to an inward-facing conformation in which allows sodium and glucose will to dissociate.
The protein then returns to the outward-facing conformation state, ready to bind more sodium ions and glucose.
History
Cloning
Co-transport proteins of mammalian cell membranes had eluded efforts of purification with classical biochemical methods until the late 1980s. These proteins had proven difficult to isolate because they contain hydrophilic and hydrophobic sequences and exist in membranes only in very low abundance (<0.2% of membrane proteins). The rabbit form of SGLT1 was the first mammalian co-transport protein ever to be cloned and sequenced, and this was reported in 1987.
To circumvent the difficulties with traditional isolation methods, a novel
expression cloning Expression cloning is a technique in DNA cloning that uses expression vectors to generate a library of clones, with each clone expressing one protein. This ''expression library'' is then screened for the property of interest and clones of interes ...
technique was used. Size-fractionation of large amounts of rabbit intestinal mRNA with preparative
gel electrophoresis
Gel electrophoresis is a method for separation and analysis of biomacromolecules ( DNA, RNA, proteins, etc.) and their fragments, based on their size and charge. It is used in clinical chemistry to separate proteins by charge or size (IEF ...
were then sequentially injected into ''
Xenopus
''Xenopus'' () (Gk., ξενος, ''xenos''=strange, πους, ''pous''=foot, commonly known as the clawed frog) is a genus of highly aquatic frogs native to sub-Saharan Africa. Twenty species are currently described within it. The two best-kno ...
'' oocytes to ultimately find the RNA species that induced the expression of sodium-glucose cotransport.
Clinical significance
SLC5A1 is medically relevant because of its role in the absorption of glucose and sodium, however, mutations in the gene can cause medical implications. A
missense mutation
In genetics, a missense mutation is a point mutation in which a single nucleotide change results in a codon that codes for a different amino acid. It is a type of nonsynonymous substitution.
Substitution of protein from DNA mutations
Missense m ...
in the ''SLC5A1'' gene of exon 1 can cause problems creating the SGLT1 protein, leading to a very rare
glucose-galactose malabsorption
Glucose-galactose malabsorption is a rare condition in which the cells lining the intestine cannot take in the sugars glucose and galactose, which prevents proper digestion of these molecules and larger molecules made from them.
Glucose and galact ...
disease.
This is because the mutation destroys the transport function.
Glucose-galactose malabsorption occurs when the lining of the intestinal cells cannot take in glucose and galactose which prevents the use of those molecules in catabolism and anabolism. The disease has symptoms that consist of watery and/or acidic
diarrhea
Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin ...
which is the result of water retention in the intestinal lumen and osmotic loss created by non-absorbed glucose, galactose and sodium.
Patients must stick to a diet devoid of these two sugars, or life-threatening diarrhea will occur.
In humans without this genetic disorder, SLGT1 is key to the operation of
oral rehydration therapy
Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is a type of fluid replacement used to prevent and treat dehydration, especially due to diarrhea. It involves drinking water with modest amounts of sugar and salts, specifically sodium and potassium. Oral rehydra ...
. By adding sodium and glucose to water, the co-transporter is allowed to transport all three, helping to speed up water absorption.
Tissue distribution
The ''SLC5A1'' cotransporter is mainly expressed in the lumen of the small intestine, kidney, parotid glands, submandibular glands and in the heart.
See also
*
Solute carrier family
*
SGLT
Sodium-dependent glucose cotransporters (or sodium-glucose linked transporter, SGLT) are a family of glucose transporter found in the intestinal mucosa (enterocytes) of the small intestine (SGLT1) and the proximal tubule of the nephron (SGLT2 in ...
Family
*
SGLT2
The sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the (solute carrier family 5 (sodium/glucose cotransporter)) gene.
Function
SGLT2 is a member of the sodium glucose cotransporter family, which are sodium-d ...
Interactions
SLC5A1 has been shown to
interact
Advocates for Informed Choice, dba interACT or interACT Advocates for Intersex Youth, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization using innovative strategies to advocate for the legal and human rights of children with intersex traits. The organizat ...
with
PAWR
PRKC, apoptosis, WT1, regulator, also known as PAWR or Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4), is a human gene coding for a tumor-suppressor protein that induces apoptosis in cancer cells, but not in normal cells.
Function
The tumor suppre ...
.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Sodium-glucose transporter modulators
Solute carrier family