A novel gene involved in zinc transport is deficient in the lethal milk mouse.
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Huang L, Gitschier J
A novel gene involved in zinc transport is deficient in the lethal milk mouse.
Nat Genet. 1997 Nov;17(3):292-7. doi: 10.1038/ng1197-292.
- PubMed ID
- 9354792 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
We have identified the gene responsible for the inherited zinc deficiency in the lethal milk (lm) mouse. The gene, here designated Znt4, encodes a 430-amino-acid protein that is homologous to two proteins, ZnT2 and ZnT3, responsible for sequestration of zinc into endosomal/lysosomal compartments and synaptic vesicles, respectively. We show that the Znt4 gene confers zinc resistance to a zinc-sensitive yeast strain and that it is abundantly expressed in the mammary epithelia and brain. The lethal milk mutant has a nonsense mutation at arginine codon 297 in the Znt4 gene.