LAT2 Background Information
L-amino acid transporter protein-2 (LAT2), a non-glycosylated membrane protein, complexes with CD98 to contribute to readsorption of neutral amino acids in renal epithelia and blood-tissue barriers. The gene encoding LAT2 is expressed primarily in the kidney, but also to a lesser extent in placenta, brain, liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, heart, small intestine, and lung. Transfection with the antisense sequence of LAT2 suggests that LAT2 expression plays a major role in net basolateral efflux of cysteine, and points to LAT2 as a candidate gene to modulate cysteine reabsorption. In addition, the CD98/LAT2 heterodimer associates with Integrin ∫1 in intestinal epithelial cells, where ligand binding to CD98 and another cell surface molecule, ICAM-1 differentially regulates LAT2 activity, suggesting a novel mechanism by which events like cell adhesion may affect amino acid transport activity.
