The molecular physiology of electroneutral cation-chloride cotransport.

The application of molecular biology to the study of electroneutral cation-chloride cotransporters has been extremely successful, resulting in the identification of a new gene family of five membrane proteins. The function, expression, and regulation of these important proteins can increasingly be described in molecular terms. In addition, mutations in two renal cation-chloride transporter genes have been found in patients with Bartter's and Gitelman's syndromes, autosomal recessive disorders of renal salt excretion.