| 1992 |
The AE3 gene generates two isoforms (brain AE3 and cardiac AE3/cAE3) via alternative promoter usage and alternative first exon (exon C1) within the sixth intron of the brain transcription unit; the cardiac isoform encodes a unique 73 amino acid N-terminus replacing the first 270 amino acids of the brain form. |
cDNA cloning, genomic characterization, primer extension, S1 nuclease protection assays |
The Journal of biological chemistry |
High |
1560021
|
| 1994 |
Both cardiac (cAE3, 1034 aa) and brain (bAE3, 1232 aa) isoforms of human AE3 mediate Cl- transport when expressed in Xenopus oocytes, confirming functional anion exchange activity. In human cardiac membranes, only cAE3 polypeptides were detected by immunoblot. |
Xenopus oocyte expression with 36Cl- uptake assay, immunoblot of human cardiac membranes, CHO cell overexpression |
Circulation research |
High |
7923606
|
| 1993 |
Two novel truncated AE3 isoforms are generated by tissue-specific alternative RNA processing. The 14-AE3 isoform (74 kDa) encodes only the N-terminal cytoplasmic domain and lacks the transmembrane anion exchange channel. Unlike full-length AE3, 14-AE3 is insoluble in non-ionic detergent, suggesting association with the cytoskeleton. |
Molecular cloning, immunoblotting with N- and C-terminus-specific antibodies, detergent solubility fractionation |
Journal of cell science |
Medium |
8126106
|
| 1994 |
AE3 is expressed as two distinct isoforms in the rat retina: a 165 kDa isoform (bAE3/full-length) restricted to Müller glia with polarized distribution highest in basal endfoot processes, and a 125 kDa isoform (cAE3) expressed in horizontal neurons. These isoforms show distinct developmental expression patterns, with the neuronal isoform undetectable until postnatal day 10-15. |
Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry with antipeptide antibodies specific for NH2-terminal and COOH-terminal epitopes, developmental expression analysis |
The Journal of neuroscience |
High |
7931579
|
| 1999 |
Full-length AE3 and cAE3 mediate Cl-/HCO3- exchange when expressed in HEK-293 cells, but at lower transport activity than AE1 or AE2 (AE3: 9 mM H+/min; cAE3: 4; vs AE1: 24; AE2: 32). Unlike AE2, AE3 and cAE3 are essentially insensitive to inhibition by acid intracellular pH across the range 6.0-9.0, indicating they can contribute to pHi recovery after acid loading regardless of pH. |
Transient transfection in HEK-293 cells, intracellular pH monitoring, intracellular chloride concentration measurement, pH clamping experiments |
The Biochemical journal |
High |
10548554
|
| 2003 |
The low anion-transport activity of AE3 in HEK-293 cells is due to inefficient processing to the plasma membrane (~8-fold less efficient than AE2), and this inefficiency is determined by the cytoplasmic domain (amino acids 322-677 of AE2 being dominant). Glycosylation has little or no role in cell-surface processing or transport activity of AE2 or AE3. |
AE2-AE3 chimeric protein expression in HEK-293 cells, chemical cell-surface labeling, confocal microscopy, glycosylation inhibitor (tunicamycin) treatment, transport activity assays |
The Biochemical journal |
High |
12578559
|
| 2006 |
Disruption of Slc4a3 (AE3 knockout) abolishes sodium-independent Cl-/HCO3- exchange in pyramidal cell layer of hippocampal CA3 region and reduces the seizure threshold in mice exposed to bicuculline, pentylenetetrazole, or pilocarpine, with increased seizure-induced mortality. AE3 KO mice do not develop spontaneous seizures but show increased susceptibility. |
Targeted gene disruption (knockout mouse), electrocorticography, pharmacological seizure induction, ion transport measurements in hippocampal slices |
Molecular and cellular biology |
High |
16354689
|
| 2007 |
AE3-null (Slc4a3-/-) mice develop inner retina defects including electroretinogram b-wave reduction, optic nerve and retinal vessel anomalies, and late-onset photoreceptor apoptosis (4-6 months). Compensatory upregulation of NBC1, carbonic anhydrase II, and CAXIV protein expression was detected in null retinas, indicating that AE3-mediated Cl-/HCO3- exchange is required for normal retinal function. |
Electroretinography, TUNEL staining, immunoblotting, Slc4a3-/- knockout mouse model |
PloS one |
High |
17786210
|
| 2008 |
Loss of AE3 alone in mice does not impair cardiac contractility or ischemia-reperfusion injury; however, combined knockout of AE3 and NKCC1 causes impaired cardiac contraction and relaxation, enhanced Na+/Ca2+ exchanger activity, reduced phospholamban phosphorylation, and altered protein phosphatase 2A methylation/localization, demonstrating that AE3 and NKCC1 together affect Ca2+ handling and cardiac phosphatase regulation. |
AE3/NKCC1 double knockout mice, in vivo cardiac performance, isolated ventricular myocyte Ca2+ transients, Na+/Ca2+ exchanger activity, immunoblotting for phospholamban and protein phosphatases |
The Journal of biological chemistry |
High |
18779325
|
| 2009 |
Extracellular carbonic anhydrases CA4 and CA14 both facilitate AE3-mediated Cl-/HCO3- exchange in hippocampal neurons. Inhibition of CA4 or CA14 by benzolamide or isoform-specific antibodies enhanced NH4+-induced alkalinization in WT neurons, but this effect was absent in AE3-knockout neurons, placing CA4/CA14 as functional partners that enhance AE3-dependent pH regulation. |
AE3-null mouse hippocampal neurons, pharmacological CA inhibition (benzolamide), isoform-specific inhibitory antibodies, intracellular pH measurements, quantitative PCR, single-cell PCR |
The Journal of neuroscience |
High |
19279262
|
| 2009 |
The epilepsy-associated AE3 variant A867D has significantly reduced Cl-/HCO3- exchange transport activity (~54% of wild-type) when expressed in HEK-293 cells, without differences in expression level or plasma membrane trafficking. PKA activation (by 8-Br-cAMP) increases transport activity of both WT and A867D AE3 to a similar degree, demonstrating PKA-dependent regulation of AE3 transport activity. |
Transient transfection in HEK-293 cells, intracellular pH-based transport assay, PKA inhibitor (H89) treatment, 8-Br-cAMP stimulation, surface expression analysis |
American journal of physiology. Cell physiology |
High |
19605733
|
| 2010 |
In a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy model (α-tropomyosin E180G mutation), loss of AE3 caused rapid decompensation and heart failure with reduced Ca2+ transient amplitude and decay, impaired β-adrenergic response, and blunted PLN phosphorylation reserve, without affecting hypertrophy per se. Phospholamban Ser16 phosphorylation was sharply increased under basal conditions in both single and double mutants. |
AE3-null × TM180 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy double-mutant mice, echocardiography, Ca2+ transient imaging, immunoblotting for PLN phosphorylation and protein phosphatases |
Journal of molecular and cellular cardiology |
High |
21056571
|
| 2011 |
A frameshift mutation in SLC4A3 in Golden Retriever dogs causes progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) with a recessive inheritance pattern and full penetrance, establishing SLC4A3 as causally required for retinal integrity in vivo. |
Genome-wide association study, sequencing identification of frameshift mutation, pedigree segregation analysis in affected dogs |
PloS one |
Medium |
21738669
|
| 2013 |
AE3-null mice show blunted frequency-dependent inotropy (force-frequency response) during in vivo pacing, with elevated Akt phosphorylation and reduced AMPK phosphorylation in paced null hearts, suggesting AE3-mediated HCO3- extrusion is required for normal mechanosensory signaling during acute biomechanical stress. |
Intraventricular pressure analysis, in vivo cardiac pacing, phosphoprotein immunoblotting, Ca2+ transient analysis in AE3-null mice |
Frontiers in physiology |
Medium |
24427143
|
| 2014 |
AE3-deficient (ae3-/-) cardiomyocytes are resistant to hypertrophic stimulation (no increase in cell growth or fetal gene program reactivation), and show a significantly slower rate of pHi recovery from imposed alkalosis, establishing AE3-mediated acid loading as required for the pro-hypertrophic cascade in cardiomyocytes. |
ae3-/- knockout mice, echocardiography, cultured cardiomyocyte hypertrophic stimulation assays, intracellular pH measurement with BCECF-AM dye |
BMC cardiovascular disorders |
Medium |
25047106
|
| 2014 |
Zebrafish Ae3 (Slc4a3) encodes a single 1170 aa polypeptide that mediates low-rate DIDS-sensitive 36Cl-/Cl- exchange at the Xenopus oocyte surface. Unlike Ae2, zebrafish Ae3 Cl- transport is insensitive to NH4Cl and hypertonicity, though it is similarly inhibited by acidic pH and stimulated by alkaline pH. |
Xenopus oocyte expression, 36Cl- influx/efflux assays, pharmacological characterization (DIDS, NH4Cl, hypertonicity, pH), epitope-tagging, whole mount in situ hybridization |
Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology |
High |
24668450
|
| 2016 |
AE3 in hippocampal neurons (not astrocytes) mediates HCO3- efflux that: (1) enhances pHi acidification rate during alkali loads and early metabolic acidosis, (2) limits the extent of pHi decrease during metabolic acidosis, and (3) paradoxically speeds re-alkalization after metabolic acidosis removal. AE3 knockout also impairs pHi homeostasis in adjacent astrocytes, which requires the presence of neurons, suggesting indirect enhancement of astrocytic NBCe1 activity by neuronal AE3. |
AE3-/- knockout mouse hippocampal neuron-astrocyte co-cultures, intracellular pH fluorescence imaging during CO2/HCO3- manipulations, metabolic acid loading/removal protocols, ammonium prepulse assays |
The Journal of physiology |
High |
27353306
|
| 2017 |
A missense mutation in SLC4A3 causes SQTS by reducing surface expression of AE3 and reducing membrane bicarbonate transport. Slc4a3 knockdown in zebrafish increases cardiac pHi, shortens QTc, and reduces systolic duration; these phenotypes are rescued by wildtype but not mutated SLC4A3. An increase in pHi and decrease in intracellular [Cl-] shortens the action potential duration. |
Slc4a3 zebrafish knockdown with rescue experiments (WT vs. mutant SLC4A3), intracellular pH measurement, patch clamp for QTc, bicarbonate transport assay in transfected cells, surface expression analysis |
Nature communications |
High |
29167417
|
| 2017 |
RNA-seq analysis of AE3-null mouse hearts reveals upregulation of hypoxia response genes and angiogenesis/vasodilation genes, and metabolic shifts toward glucose utilization and away from fatty acid utilization, supporting the hypothesis that AE3 functions in active CO2 disposal by extruding CO2 as HCO3- from cardiac myocytes. |
RNA-seq of AE3-null vs. wild-type mouse hearts, Gene Ontology analysis, PubMatrix analysis of differentially expressed genes |
Scientific reports |
Low |
28779178
|
| 2023 |
Nonsynonymous SLC4A3 variants (p.Arg600Cys, p.Arg621Trp, p.Glu852Asp, p.Arg952His, p.Arg370His) are loss-of-function mutations causing SQTS; knockdown of slc4a3 in zebrafish shortens QTc intervals rescued by native human SLC4A3 but not by the mutant variants, establishing pathogenicity of each variant. SLC4A3 dysfunction is associated with alkaline cytosol and shortened cardiomyocyte action potential. |
Zebrafish slc4a3 knockdown with variant-specific rescue, intracellular pH measurement, QTc measurement in zebrafish |
Heart rhythm |
High |
36806574
|
| 2025 |
A novel SLC4A3 variant p.R1016G causes SQTS via a gain-of-function mechanism (increased transport activity) in HEK-293 cells, in contrast to previously described loss-of-function SQTS variants, demonstrating that both gain- and loss-of-function of AE3 can shorten the QT interval. |
Whole-exome sequencing, functional transport assay in HEK-293 cells, computational structural modeling, clinical ECG analysis |
JACC. Clinical electrophysiology |
Medium |
40439641
|
| 2026 |
SLC4A3 loss-of-function mutations (p.Arg370Cys, p.Lys531Thr) in patient-derived hiPSC-CMs cause intracellular alkalinization, decreased L-type calcium channel current (ICa-L), increased Na+/Ca2+ exchange current (INCX), shortened action potential duration, and frequent delayed afterdepolarizations. Experimental alkalinization of WT hiPSC-CMs by NH4Cl recapitulated all these electrophysiological changes, establishing that alkalinization downstream of AE3 loss-of-function is the proximate cause of APD shortening and arrhythmia. |
Patient hiPSC-CMs with CRISPR/Cas9 isogenic correction, patch-clamp, Ca2+ imaging, single-cell contraction analysis, intracellular pH measurement, optical mapping in organoids, NH4Cl alkalinization of WT cells |
European heart journal |
High |
41780556
|