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GeneE
10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 15 days ago
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SLC7A2
solute carrier family 7 member 2
Chromosome 8 · 8p22
NCBI Gene: 6542Ensembl: ENSG00000003989.18HGNC: HGNC:11060UniProt: A0A9H4ATX5
53PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
FUNCTIONAL ROLE
Transporter
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
cell junctionL-lysine transmembrane transportplasma membraneL-ornithine transmembrane transportessential hypertensionSplenomegalykidney diseasehypertension
✦AI Summary

SLC7A2 is a low-affinity, high-capacity cationic amino acid transporter that mediates uptake of L-arginine, L-lysine, L-ornithine, and L-homoarginine across the plasma membrane 1. Beyond basic amino acid transport, SLC7A2 functions as a nutrient sensor coupling amino acid availability to cellular proliferation through mTORC1 signaling activation 23. In pancreatic islets, SLC7A2 is the predominant cationic amino acid transporter in α cells and is essential for arginine-stimulated glucagon secretion and α cell proliferation 3. SLC7A2 expression also regulates β and δ cell proliferation in response to interrupted glucagon signaling via mTORC1-dependent mechanisms 2. Genetic variants in SLC7A2 associate with HbA1c levels 3. In cancer, SLC7A2 acts as a tumor suppressor. Lower SLC7A2 expression correlates with enhanced multidrug resistance, reduced immune infiltration, and worse prognosis in non-small-cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma 456. SLC7A2 promotes anti-tumor immunity by facilitating lysine catabolism-driven histone crotonylation, which enhances type I interferon signaling and CD8+ T cell infiltration in glioblastoma and triple-negative breast cancer 17. Conversely, SLC7A2 upregulation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma promotes mTORC1 activation and metastasis 8.

Sources cited
1
SLC7A2 upregulation in glioblastoma stem cells enables lysine catabolism and histone crotonylation, which suppresses anti-tumor immunity
PMID: 37198486
2
SLC7A2 is required for islet non-alpha cell proliferation via mTORC1 signaling in response to interrupted glucagon signaling
PMID: 39433176
3
Lower SLC7A2 expression associates with enhanced multidrug resistance, reduced immune infiltration, and worse prognosis in NSCLC
PMID: 36639771
4
SLC7A2 is downregulated in ovarian cancer and acts as a tumor suppressor modulating prognosis
PMID: 32647070
5
SLC7A2 is the most highly expressed cationic amino acid transporter in pancreatic α cells and is essential for arginine-stimulated glucagon secretion and α cell proliferation
PMID: 37645716
6
SLC7A2-mediated lysine catabolism promotes histone crotonylation and CD8+ T cell activation in triple-negative breast cancer
PMID: 38842202
7
SLC7A2 deficiency promotes hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis by enhancing MDSC recruitment through PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling
PMID: 34108444
8
RIOK3 upregulates SLC7A2 to promote arginine uptake and mTORC1 activation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
PMID: 36880835
Disease Associationsⓘ20
essential hypertensionOpen Targets
0.30Weak
SplenomegalyOpen Targets
0.30Weak
kidney diseaseOpen Targets
0.30Weak
hypertensionOpen Targets
0.29Weak
orofacial cleftOpen Targets
0.27Weak
neurodegenerative diseaseOpen Targets
0.26Weak
myoepithelial tumorOpen Targets
0.11Weak
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.10Weak
hepatocellular carcinomaOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
head and neck squamous cell carcinomaOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
non-small cell lung carcinomaOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
Huntington diseaseOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
ovarian cancerOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
Adult-onset autosomal recessive sideroblastic anemiaOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
microcytic anemia with liver iron overloadOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
hypertriglyceridemia 2Open Targets
0.05Suggestive
AcheiropodiaOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosisOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
FTH1-related iron overloadOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
hemochromatosis type 5Open Targets
0.05Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
ARG1Protein interaction84%ARG2Protein interaction83%SLC7A3Shared pathway75%SLC7A1Shared pathway60%SLC25A29Shared pathway43%SLC66A1Shared pathway29%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Liver
100%
Ovary
54%
Heart
12%
Brain
7%
Lung
5%
Bone Marrow
0%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
SLC7A2ARG1ARG2SLC7A3SLC7A1SLC25A29SLC66A1
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
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AlphaFoldAI-predicted · UniProt P52569
View on AlphaFold ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
1.13LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.00Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.88 [0.70–1.13]
RankingsWhere SLC7A2 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #8,497of 20,598
    Most Researched53
  • #11,682of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)1.13
Genes detectedSLC7A2
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
Lysine catabolism reprograms tumour immunity through histone crotonylation.
PMID: 37198486
Nature · 2023
1.00
2
Interruption of glucagon signaling augments islet non-alpha cell proliferation in SLC7A2- and mTOR-dependent manners.
PMID: 39433176
Mol Metab · 2024
0.90
3
Lower SLC7A2 expression is associated with enhanced multidrug resistance, less immune infiltrates and worse prognosis of NSCLC.
PMID: 36639771
Cell Commun Signal · 2023
0.80
4
SLC7A2 serves as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.
PMID: 32647070
Aging (Albany NY) · 2020
0.70
5
Pancreatic islet α cell function and proliferation requires the arginine transporter SLC7A2.
PMID: 37645716
bioRxiv · 2023
0.60