Thiamine transporter 2 also known as solute carrier family 19 member 3, is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 that in humans is encoded by the SLC19A3 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

. SLC19A3 is a thiamine

Thiamine

Thiamine or thiamin or vitamin B1 , named as the "thio-vitamine" is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex. First named aneurin for the detrimental neurological effects if not present in the diet, it was eventually assigned the generic descriptor name vitamin B1. Its phosphate derivatives are...

 transporter.

Function

ThTr-2 is a ubiquitously expressed transmembrane thiamine transporter that lacks folate transport activity.

Clinical significance

Mutations in this gene cause biotin-responsive basal ganglia disease (BBGD); a recessive disorder manifested in childhood that progresses to chronic encephalopathy

Encephalopathy

Encephalopathy means disorder or disease of the brain. In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but rather to a syndrome of global brain dysfunction; this syndrome can be caused by many different illnesses.-Terminology:...

, dystonia

Dystonia

Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The disorder may be hereditary or caused by other factors such as birth-related or other physical trauma, infection, poisoning or reaction to...

, quadriparesis

Quadriplegia

Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is paralysis caused by illness or injury to a human that results in the partial or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso; paraplegia is similar but does not affect the arms...

, and death if untreated. Patients with BBGD have bilateral necrosis in the head of the caudate nucleus and in the putamen. Administration of high doses of biotin in the early progression of the disorder eliminates pathological symptoms while delayed treatment results in residual paraparesis, mild mental retardation, or dystonia. Administration of thiamine is ineffective in the treatment of this disorder. Experiments have failed to show that this protein can transport biotin. Mutations in this gene also cause a Wernicke's-like encephalopathy.