title: [From the discovery of microbial Mep-Amt ammonium transporters to human Rhesus factors].
abstract: Ammonium, ubiquitous on Earth, plays major and distinct roles in most organisms. While it can be a nitrogen source for many microorganisms and plants, it is a cytotoxic metabolic product actively detoxified by the liver in animals. Furthermore, in the latter, ammonium synthesis in the kidney is involved in acid/base homeostasis. Ammonium transport is ensured by a family of proteins, called Mep-Amt-Rh. This family is conserved in all domains of life and comprises the human Rh factors, notably known in transfusional medicine. While the study of bacterial, fungal and vegetal Mep-Amt transporters reveals a fine-tuned and rapid regulation of these proteins in function of environmental changes, the regulation of animal Rh proteins has been poorly addressed. This review notably highlights the importance of the yeast model in the study of the regulation of these proteins as well as in the functional characterization of Mep-Amt-Rh members of diverse origins.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de biologie du transport membranaire, IBMM, université Libre de Bruxelles, 12, rue des Professeurs Jeener et Brachet, 6041 Gosselies, Belgique.
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boeckstaens
mesh_terms: D064751:Ammonium Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D006801:Humans; D017136:Ion Transport / Q000235:genetics; D057865:Plant Immunity / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D064751:Ammonium Compounds; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; C088951:MEP1 protein, S cerevisiae; D010940:Plant Proteins; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C088952:ammonium transporters, plant