title: Ctr1 and its role in body copper homeostasis.
abstract: Members of the Cu transporter (Ctr) family have been reported to be part of the copper uptake machinery in several organisms. Recently it has been suggested that human Ctr1 (hCtr1) may act as a copper transporter in several tissues including the intestine. hCtr1 is a 190 amino acid protein and is predicted to have three transmembrane-spanning domains and exist in the plasma membrane as a homo-trimer. Ctr1-transfected cell lines exhibit saturable, pH-dependent Cu(I) uptake indicating a role in copper transport. Recent studies with Ctr1 knockout mice have highlighted an essential function in mammalian embryonic development since homozygous mutants die in utero. Heterozygotes are indistinguishable from wild-type littermates but have a severely reduced brain copper content, suggesting that Ctr1 is a key component of the copper uptake pathway in the brain. However, its role in other tissues remains elusive.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nutrition and Food Safety, School of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK. p.sharp@surrey.ac.uk
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Sharp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D002460:Cell Line; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism*; D000079923:Copper Transporter 1; D020895:Enterocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007477:Ions; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008954:Models, Biological; D008957:Models, Genetic; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D000079923:Copper Transporter 1; C110547:DMRT1 protein; D007477:Ions; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C490079:SLC31A1 protein, human; C490077:Slc31a1 protein, mouse; D014157:Transcription Factors; D003300:Copper