Brain mitochondrial carrier protein 1

Brain mitochondrial carrier protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC25A14 gene.

Mitochondrial uncoupling proteins (UCP) are members of the larger family of mitochondrial anion carrier proteins (MACP). UCPs separate oxidative phosphorylation from ATP synthesis with energy dissipated as heat, also referred to as the mitochondrial proton leak. UCPs facilitate the transfer of anions from the inner to the outer mitochondrial membrane and the return transfer of protons from the outer to the inner mitochondrial membrane. They also reduce the mitochondrial membrane potential in mammalian cells. Tissue specificity occurs for the different UCPs and the exact methods of how UCPs transfer H+/OH- are not known. UCPs contain the three homologous protein domains of MACPs. This gene is widely expressed in many tissues with the greatest abundance in brain and testis. The gene product has an N-terminal hydrophobic domain that is not present in other UCPs. Two splice variants have been found for this gene.

Mitochondrial uncoupling proteins play a significant role in the human genome as well as in the genomes of plants, prokaryotes, fungi, and other eukaryotes, including all mammals. Humans contain five different isoforms of the uncoupling proteins, and each UCP has its own function in the human body; however, they are all vital in the genome. Past studies demonstrated how decreasing redox signaling and specific UCPs have a neuroprotective role that can protect against a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including hypoxia, ischemia, and illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia.