Zinc transporter 8 (ZNT8) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC30A8 gene.[5] ZNT8 is a zinc transporter related to insulin secretion in humans. In particular, ZNT8 is critical for the accumulation of zinc into beta cell secretory granules and the maintenance of stored insulin as tightly packaged hexamers. Certain alleles of the SLC30A8 gene may increase the risk for developing type 2 diabetes, but a loss-of-function mutation appears to greatly reduce the risk of diabetes.[6]

Quick Facts SLC30A8, Identifiers ...
SLC30A8
Identifiers
AliasesSLC30A8, ZNT8, ZnT-8, solute carrier family 30 member 8
External IDsOMIM: 611145; MGI: 2442682; HomoloGene: 13795; GeneCards: SLC30A8; OMA:SLC30A8 - orthologs
Orthologs
SpeciesHumanMouse
Entrez
Ensembl
UniProt
RefSeq (mRNA)

NM_001172811
NM_001172813
NM_001172814
NM_001172815
NM_173851

NM_172816

RefSeq (protein)

NP_001166282
NP_001166284
NP_001166285
NP_001166286
NP_776250

NP_766404

Location (UCSC)Chr 8: 116.95 – 117.18 MbChr 15: 52.16 – 52.2 Mb
PubMed search[3][4]
Wikidata
View/Edit HumanView/Edit Mouse
Close

Clinical significance

Association with type 2 diabetes (T2D)

Twelve rare variants in SLC30A8 have been identified through the sequencing or genotyping of approximately 150,000 individuals from 5 different ancestry groups. SLC30A8 contains a common variant (p.Trp325Arg), which is associated with T2D risk and levels of glucose and proinsulin.[7][8][9] Individuals carrying protein-truncating variants collectively had 65% reduced risk of T2D. Additionally, non-diabetic individuals from Iceland harboring a frameshift variant p. Lys34Serfs*50 demonstrated reduced glucose levels.[6] Earlier functional studies of SLC30A8 suggested that reduced zinc transport increased T2D risk.[10][11] Conversely, loss-of-function mutations in humans indicate that SLC30A8 haploinsufficiency protects against T2D. Therefore, ZnT8 inhibition can serve as a therapeutic strategy in preventing T2D.[6]

See also

References

Further reading

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.