Tissue-specific mRNA expression profiles of human solute carrier 35 transporters

Pairs of forward and reverse primers and TaqMan probes specific to each of 23 human solute carrier 35 (SLC35) transporters were prepared. The mRNA expression level of each target transporter was analyzed in total RNA from single and pooled specimens of adult human tissues (adipose tissue, adrenal gland, bladder, bone marrow, brain, cerebellum, colon, heart, kidney, liver, lung, mammary gland, ovary, pancreas, peripheral leukocytes, placenta, prostate, retina, salivary gland, skeletal muscle, small intestine, smooth muscle, spinal cord, spleen, stomach, testis, thymus, thyroid gland, tonsil, trachea, and uterus), from pooled specimens of fetal human tissues (brain, heart, kidney, liver, spleen, and thymus), and from three human cell lines (HeLa cell line ATCC#: CCL-2, human cell line Hep G2, and human breast carcinoma cell line MDA-435) by real-time reverse transcription PCR using an Applied Biosystems 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR System. The mRNA expression of SLC35As, SLC35Bs, SLC35Cs, SLC35D1, SLC35D2, SLC35Es, and SLC35F5 was found to be ubiquitous in both adult and fetal tissues. SLC35D3 mRNA was expressed at the highest levels in the adult retina. SLC35F1 mRNA was expressed at high levels in the adult and fetal brain. SLC35F2 mRNA was expressed at the highest levels in the adult salivary gland. Both SLC35F3 and SLC35F4 mRNAs were expressed at the highest levels in the adult cerebellum. Further, individual differences in the mRNA expression levels of human SLC35 transporters in the liver were also evaluated. Our newly determined expression profiles were used to study the gene expression in 31 adult human tissues, 6 fetal human tissues, and 3 cell lines, and tissues with high transcriptional activity for human SLC35 transporters were identified. These results are expected to be valuable for research concerning the clinical diagnosis of disease.