The Na+/I symporter (NIS) mediates electroneutral active transport of the environmental pollutant perchlorate.

ABSTRACT: The Na(+)/I(-) symporter (NIS) is a key plasma membrane protein that mediates active I(-) uptake in the thyroid, lactating breast, and other tissues with an electrogenic stoichiometry of 2 Na(+) per I(-). In the thyroid, NIS-mediated I(-) uptake is the first step in the biosynthesis of the iodine-containing thyroid hormones, which are essential early in life for proper CNS development. In the lactating breast, NIS mediates the translocation of I(-) to the milk, thus supplying this essential anion to the nursing newborn. Perchlorate (ClO(4)(-)) is a well known competitive inhibitor of NIS. Exposure to food and water contaminated with ClO(4)(-) is common in the U.S. population, and the public health impact of such exposure is currently being debated. To date, it is still uncertain whether Cl

SUBMITTER: Dohan O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2154417 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature