A sodium-dependent transport system is responsible for the transplacental transfer of the vitamins pantothenate and biotin
and the essential metabolite lipoate. Prasad et al. (1998) isolated rat cDNAs encoding a protein that they designated
sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT). The predicted protein contains 12 putative transmembrane domains
with the N and C termini facing the cytoplasm. SMVT has homology to other known sodium-dependent nutrient transporters,
including bacterial pantothenate permeases and mammalian iodide transporter , glucose transporter-1 and
-2 , and myoinositol transporter.
General function
Channel/transport protein
Comment
Cellular localization
Plasma membrane
Comment
Ovarian function
Unknown
Comment
Northern blot analysis revealed that the SMVT gene was
expressed in all rat tissues tested, suggesting that this protein may be involved in the entry of pantothenate, biotin, and lipoate
in all cell types
Expression regulated by
Comment
Ovarian localization
Comment
This gene was found in a rat ovarian cDNA library (Unigene)