Monocarboxylate transporter 2 (MCT2) also known as solute carrier family 16 member 7 (SLC16A7) 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, res ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''SLC16A7''

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 ...

. MCT2 is a proton-coupled

monocarboxylate transporter The monocarboxylate transporters, or MCTs, are a family of Proton#Hydrogen as proton, proton-linked Membrane transport protein, plasma membrane transporters that carry molecules having one carboxylate group (monocarboxylates), such as Lactic acid, l ...

. It catalyzes the rapid transport across the

plasma membrane The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment (t ...

of many monocarboxylates such as

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as nat ...

, branched-chain oxo acids derived from leucine,_valine,_and_isoleucine.html" ;"title="valine.html" ;"title="leucine, valine">leucine, valine, and isoleucine">valine.html" ;"title="leucine, valine">leucine, valine, and isoleucine, and the ketone bodies acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate. It also functions as high-Affinity (pharmacology), affinity pyruvate transporter. Both Northern blot analysis and inspection of the human expressed sequence tag (EST) database suggest relatively little expression of MCT2 in human tissues. As well, the sequence of MCT2 is far less conserved across species than that of MCT1 or MCT4 and there also appear to be considerable species differences in the tissue expression profile of this isoform. Of the four known mammalian lactate transporters (MCTs 1-4), MCT2 harbors the highest affinity for lactate. In parallel, MCT2 gene transcription has been demonstrated to respond with high-sensitivity to hypoxia, intracellular pH, and, to lactate.

See also

References

Further reading