BACKGROUND Ferroportin (Fpn), a regulator of iron homeostasis is a conserved membrane protein that exports iron across the enterocytes, macrophages and hepatocytes into the blood circulation. Fpn has also critical influence on survival of microorganisms whose growth is dependent upon iron, thus preparation of Fpn is needed to study the role of iron in immunity and pathogenesis of micoorganisms....

The L-glutamate transporter GLT-1 is an abundant central nervous system (CNS) membrane protein of the excitatory amino acid transporter (EAAT) family that controls extracellular L-glutamate levels and is important in limiting excitotoxic neuronal death. Using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, we have determined that four mRNAs encoding GLT-1 exist in mouse brain, with the potenti...

Brown, Sean G., Alison Thomas, Lodewijk V. Dekker, Andrew Tinker, and Joanne L. Leaney. PKCsensitizes Kir3.1/3.2 channels to changes in membrane phospholipid levels after M3 receptor activation in HEK-293 cells. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 289: C543–C556, 2005. First published April 27, 2005; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00025.2005.—G proteingated inward rectifier (Kir3) channels are inhibited by activati...

Previous studies on the activation mechanism of canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) channels have often produced conflicting conclusions. All seven have been shown to be activated by phospholipase C (PLC)-coupled receptors, but TRPC1, TRPC2, TRPC3, TRPC4, TRPC5, and TRPC7 have also been proposed to function as store-operated channels.(1)1Although PLC activation inevitably leads to act...

Class A scavenger receptor (SR-A) antagonists may prevent the initiation of atherosclerosis, because a recent report found that SR-A/apolipoprotein E (apoE) double-knockout mice had 60% smaller lesions than apoE single-knockout littermates. We transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells with SR-A type I or II receptors to find small-molecule antagonists. Uptake of 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3'...