This entry represents the MgtE family of magnesium transporters. MgtE is a highly Mg2+-selective channel gated by Mg2+ []. It is an SLC41A1 orthologue found in prokaryotes, which consists of a homodimer architecture with five transmembrane domains in the C terminus and cytosolic N terminus domains. Structural and functional analyses showed MgtE conserved acidic side-chains play a key role as part of its selectivity filter. Proteins in this family contains two highly conserved aspartates that may be involved in cation binding [, , , ].
This entry represents the integral membrane region of SLC41 transporter proteins. SLC41 family of divalent cation transporters includes SLC41A1/2/3 from eukaryotes and MgtE from prokaryotes [, , , , ]. MgtE is the prokaryote homologue of SLC41A1 magnesium transporter which adopts a homodimeric architecture with five transmembrane domains in the C terminus and cytosolic N terminus domains [, ]. Bacterial family members have one copy of this region while archaeal and eukaryotic sequences have two. Mouse SLC41A2 has been shown to transport Mg2+ and a range of other divalent cations: Ba2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Fe2+, or Mn2+, but not Ca2+, Zn2+, or Cu2+ [].
This entry includes the SLC41A family members mostly from eukaryotes and archaea. Some proteins are from bacteria. The SLC41A family of divalent cation transporters includes SLC41A1, SLC41A2 and SLC41A3 and MgtE [, , , ]. MgtE, the SLC41A1 orthologue found in prokaryotes, consists of a homodimer architecture with five transmembrane domains at the C terminus and the cytosolic domains at the N terminus. Structural and functional analyses showed MgtE conserved acidic side-chains play a key role as part of its selectivity filter [, ]. In humans, SLC41A1 is a Na+/Mg2+ ion exchanger that acts as a predominant Mg2+ efflux system at the plasma membrane. The transporter activity is driven by the inwardly directed electrochemical gradient for Na+ ions, thus directly depends on the extracellular Na+ ion concentration set by the Na+/K+ pump. In this way, it generates circadian cellular Mg2+ fluxes that feed back to regulate clock-controlled gene expression and metabolism and facilitate higher energetic demands during the day. This protein is located in the cell membrane [, ]. Its expression level has been linked to diverse disorders such as preeclampsia in pregnant woman, nephronophthisis, Parkinson's disease and bone mass loss. Hence, it has been suggested this protein might be a great therapeutic target [, , , ]. Mouse SLC41A2 has been shown to transport Mg2+ and a range of other divalent cations: Ba2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Fe2+, or Mn2+, but not Ca2+, Zn2+, or Cu2+ [].
