Mouse SLC39A4 Antibody

SLC39A4 (Solute carrier family 39 member 4; also Zip-4) is a 75-90 kDa member of the ZIP transporter family of proteins. It is expressed by select cell types, including pancreatic beta-cells plus epithelium of the choroid plexus and intestine. SLC39A4 is part of a zinc-sensitive cell cycling system. When extracellular zinc levels are high, SLC39A4 is generally found internally associated with endosomes, and is unavailable at the cell membrane to transport zinc into the cell. Under low zinc conditions, SLC39A4 generally appears in the plasma membrane to ensure adequate zinc uptake in the face of limited zinc availability. Mouse SLC39A4 is a 660 amino acid (aa) six transmembrane (TM) glycoprotein. It contains a long N-terminal extracellular region (aa 1-337) followed by six TM segments (aa 338-651) and a short C-terminal nine aa extracellular tail (aa 652-660). There is one splice variant that shows a 16 aa substitution for aa 1-63. SLC39A4 undergoes cell-specific proteolytic processing in response to low zinc concentrations. Cleavage occurs in the N-terminal extracellular region to generate a soluble 35 kDa polypeptide and a 37 kDa six TM integral membrane protein. This does not appear to be an inactivating mechanism. Over aa 1-337, mouse SLC39A4 shares 84% and 59% aa sequence identity with rat and human SLC39A4, respectively.