title: Sodium-dependent ascorbic acid transporter family SLC23.
abstract: l-Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is an effective antioxidant and an essential cofactor in numerous enzymatic reactions. Two Na(+)-dependent vitamin C transporters (SVCT1 and SVCT2) are members of the SLC23 human gene family, which also contains two orphan members. SVCT1 and SVCT2 display similar properties, including high affinity for l-ascorbic acid, but are discretely distributed. SVCT1 is confined to epithelial systems including intestine, kidney, and liver, whereas SVCT2 serves a host of metabolically active and specialized cells and tissues including neurons, the eye, lung, and placenta, and a range of neuroendocrine, exocrine, and endothelial tissues. An SVCT2-knockout mouse reveals an obligatory requirement for SVCT2, but many of the specific roles of this transporter remain unclear.
authors.affiliation: Membrane Biology Program and Renal Division, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Hitomi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takanaga
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
authors.forename: Matthias A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hediger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000502:physiology; D029363:Organic Anion Transporters, Sodium-Dependent / Q000502:physiology*; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism*; D060347:Sodium-Coupled Vitamin C Transporters; D027981:Symporters / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029363:Organic Anion Transporters, Sodium-Dependent; C555162:SLC23A1 protein, human; C555163:SLC23A2 protein, human; C555164:Slc23a1 protein, mouse; C555165:Slc23a2 protein, mouse; D060347:Sodium-Coupled Vitamin C Transporters; D027981:Symporters; D012964:Sodium; D001205:Ascorbic Acid