SLC26A8

gene
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Also known as TAT1

Summary

SLC26A8 (solute carrier family 26 member 8, HGNC:14468) is a protein-coding gene on chromosome 6p21.31, encoding Testis anion transporter 1 (Q96RN1). Antiporter that mediates the exchange of sulfate and oxalate against chloride ions across a membrane.

This gene encodes a member of the SLC26 gene family of anion transporters. Family members are well conserved in gene structure and protein length yet have markedly different tissue expression patterns. The expression of this gene appears to be restricted to spermatocytes. Alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode different isoforms have been described.

Source: NCBI Gene 116369 — RefSeq curated summary.

At a glance

  • Gene–disease (curated): non-syndromic male infertility due to sperm motility disorder (Strong, GenCC) — +1 more curated relationship
  • GWAS associations: 3
  • Clinical variants (ClinVar): 184 total — 3 pathogenic
  • Phenotypes (HPO): 4
  • MANE Select transcript: NM_052961

Identifiers

Gene identifiers

FieldValue
HGNC IDHGNC:14468
Approved symbolSLC26A8
Namesolute carrier family 26 member 8
Location6p21.31
Locus typegene with protein product
StatusApproved
AliasesTAT1
Ensembl geneENSG00000112053
Ensembl biotypeprotein_coding
OMIM608480
Entrez116369

Gene structure

Transcript identifiers

Ensembl transcripts: 9 — 5 protein_coding, 2 nonsense_mediated_decay, 2 retained_intron

ENST00000355574, ENST00000394602, ENST00000465492, ENST00000466805, ENST00000469847, ENST00000480663, ENST00000486155, ENST00000490799, ENST00000950665

RefSeq mRNA: 3 — MANE Select: NM_052961 NM_001193476, NM_052961, NM_138718

CCDS: CCDS4813, CCDS4814

Canonical transcript exons

ENST00000490799 — 20 exons

ExonStartEnd
ENSE000018215773602450436024641
ENSE000018550273594351635944340
ENSE000034832153597720435977351
ENSE000035069813599251035992674
ENSE000035114073596887735968954
ENSE000035162743595116335951347
ENSE000035518073596099335961099
ENSE000035753553596252635962621
ENSE000035923123595144535951499
ENSE000035929173597537535975488
ENSE000035934433598212135982203
ENSE000036032353601952036019709
ENSE000036131493595971435959806
ENSE000036270453599999236000108
ENSE000036372723599773835997919
ENSE000036515903596084335960912
ENSE000036534853601223336012372
ENSE000036553693599165935991808
ENSE000036776143595946035959591
ENSE000036783553595515235955520

Expression profiles

Bgee: expression breadth ubiquitous, 157 present calls, max score 89.95.

FANTOM5 (CAGE): breadth tissue_specific, TPM avg 0.5167 / max 206.1458, expressed in 125 samples.

FANTOM5 promoters (2 alternative TSS)

Promoter IDTPM avgSamples expressed
733310.429498
733320.087354

Top tissues by expression

254 total, by Bgee expression score (0-100, higher = more expressed):

TissueAnatomy IDExpression scoreQuality
left testisUBERON:000453389.95gold quality
right testisUBERON:000453489.07gold quality
testisUBERON:000047387.05gold quality
adult organismUBERON:000702382.14gold quality
cerebellar hemisphereUBERON:000224578.30gold quality
cerebellar cortexUBERON:000212978.19gold quality
right hemisphere of cerebellumUBERON:001489078.19gold quality
secondary oocyteCL:000065576.47gold quality
cerebellumUBERON:000203776.11gold quality
spermCL:000001975.69gold quality
male germ line stem cell (sensu Vertebrata) in testisCL:0000089 ∩ UBERON:000047375.56silver quality
bloodUBERON:000017874.09gold quality
oocyteCL:000002372.83gold quality
bone marrow cellCL:000209272.44gold quality
right frontal lobeUBERON:000281071.04gold quality
nucleus accumbensUBERON:000188269.99gold quality
Brodmann (1909) area 9UBERON:001354069.41gold quality
anterior cingulate cortexUBERON:000983568.98gold quality
prefrontal cortexUBERON:000045168.84gold quality
hypothalamusUBERON:000189868.29gold quality
caudate nucleusUBERON:000187367.66gold quality
dorsolateral prefrontal cortexUBERON:000983467.48gold quality
putamenUBERON:000187467.16gold quality
cortical plateUBERON:000534367.11gold quality
primary visual cortexUBERON:000243666.81gold quality
monocyteCL:000057666.80gold quality
leukocyteCL:000073866.72gold quality
primordial germ cell in gonadCL:0000670 ∩ UBERON:000099166.50silver quality
neocortexUBERON:000195066.50gold quality
frontal cortexUBERON:000187066.32gold quality

Single-cell (SCXA)

Detected in 1 experiment(s), a significant marker in 1.

ExperimentMarker?Max mean expression
E-ANND-3yes5.96

Regulation

Is transcription factor: no

miRNA regulators (miRDB)

29 targeting SLC26A8, top 30 by miRDB confidence (max_score; target_count = how many genes the miRNA targets in total — lower means more specific):

miRNAMax scoreAvg scoremiRNA target_count
HSA-MIR-1252-5P100.0069.802774
HSA-MIR-4455100.0065.481587
HSA-MIR-6867-5P100.0082.213464
HSA-MIR-453199.9969.703181
HSA-MIR-318599.9968.121959
HSA-MIR-391999.8769.452489
HSA-MIR-7154-5P99.6970.521900
HSA-MIR-4756-3P99.6266.301319
HSA-MIR-1213199.4868.721673
HSA-MIR-4728-3P99.4768.94981
HSA-MIR-6868-5P99.0665.691284
HSA-MIR-806699.0568.661532
HSA-MIR-6830-5P99.0168.731884
HSA-MIR-887-5P98.8265.901347
HSA-MIR-361198.7668.761290
HSA-MIR-5187-5P98.5467.94952
HSA-MIR-426698.5367.291035
HSA-MIR-6757-5P98.0865.50724
HSA-MIR-473697.9665.891287
HSA-MIR-315997.9466.791098
HSA-MIR-4638-3P97.9065.75905
HSA-MIR-805597.6266.091023
HSA-MIR-120297.1966.43827
HSA-MIR-397297.1966.46808
HSA-MIR-4750-3P96.6564.38512
HSA-MIR-6742-5P96.3264.01869
HSA-MIR-519195.2264.69354
HSA-MIR-6846-3P94.8065.19389
HSA-MIR-1229-5P94.5765.78487

Literature-anchored findings (GeneRIF, showing 5)

  • SLC26A8 mutations are not a common cause of male infertility. (PMID:15579655)
  • structural defects in sperm are not caused by abnormal transcription or point mutations of the TAT1 and SEPT4 genes; however, although both proteins are expressed, they are not properly localized at sperm annulus (PMID:19221096)
  • Missense mutations in SLC26A8, encoding a sperm-specific activator of CFTR, are associated with human asthenozoospermia. (PMID:23582645)
  • Novel biallelic mutations in SLC26A8 cause severe asthenozoospermia in humans owing to midpiece defects: Insights into a putative dominant genetic disease. (PMID:34923715)
  • The heterozygous mutations of SLC26A8 are not the main actors for male infertility. (PMID:35181959)

Cross-species orthologs

2 orthologs

OrganismSymbolGene ID
mus_musculusSlc26a8ENSMUSG00000036196
rattus_norvegicusSlc26a8ENSRNOG00000000512

Paralogs (9): SLC26A4 (ENSG00000091137), SLC26A3 (ENSG00000091138), SLC26A1 (ENSG00000145217), SLC26A7 (ENSG00000147606), SLC26A2 (ENSG00000155850), SLC26A5 (ENSG00000170615), SLC26A9 (ENSG00000174502), SLC26A11 (ENSG00000181045), SLC26A6 (ENSG00000225697)

Protein

Protein identifiers

Testis anion transporter 1Q96RN1 (reviewed: Q96RN1)

Alternative names: Anion exchange transporter, Solute carrier family 26 member 8

All UniProt accessions (4): Q96RN1, C9JMV8, H7C4T4, H7C5E6

UniProt curated annotations — full annotation on UniProt →

Function. Antiporter that mediates the exchange of sulfate and oxalate against chloride ions across a membrane. Stimulates anion transport activity of CFTR. May cooperate with CFTR in the regulation of chloride and bicarbonate ions fluxes required for activation of the ADCY10/PKA pathway during sperm motility and sperm capacitation. May play a role in sperm tail differentiation and motility and hence male fertility.

Subunit / interactions. Interacts with RACGAP1. Interacts with CFTR; stimulates anion transport activity of CFTR.

Subcellular location. Membrane.

Tissue specificity. Expression observed exclusively in testis, restricted to the meiotic phase of the germ cell. Abundant expression located in the seminiferous tubules, concentrated on the luminal side of the tubuli harboring the spermatocytes and spermatids.

Post-translational modifications. N-glycosylated.

Disease relevance. Spermatogenic failure 3 (SPGF3) [MIM:606766] A disorder characterized by primary infertility, sperm morphologic abnormalities, and moderate to severe asthenozoospermia, condition in which the percentage of progressively motile sperm is abnormally low. The disease is caused by variants affecting the gene represented in this entry.

Activity regulation. Activity is inhibited by 4,4’-Di-isothiocyanatostilbene-2,2’-disulfonic acid (DIDS - an inhibitor of several anion channels and transporters) and gluconate.

Induction. Repressed by tunicamycin, an inhibitor of N-glycosylation.

Similarity. Belongs to the SLC26A/SulP transporter (TC 2.A.53) family.

Isoforms (4)

UniProt IDNamesCanonical?
Q96RN1-11yes
Q96RN1-22
Q96RN1-33
Q96RN1-44

RefSeq proteins (3): NP_001180405, NP_443193, NP_619732 (=MANE)

Domains & families (InterPro)

IDNameType
IPR001902SLC26A/SulP_famFamily
IPR002645STAS_domDomain
IPR011547SLC26A/SulP_domDomain
IPR036513STAS_dom_sfHomologous_superfamily

Pfam: PF00916, PF01740

Catalyzed reactions (Rhea), 2 shown:

  • oxalate(in) + chloride(out) = oxalate(out) + chloride(in) (RHEA:72263)
  • sulfate(out) + chloride(in) = sulfate(in) + chloride(out) (RHEA:75295)

UniProt features (48 total): topological domain 13, transmembrane region 12, sequence variant 7, splice variant 5, compositionally biased region 3, region of interest 2, sequence conflict 2, chain 1, domain 1, glycosylation site 1, mutagenesis site 1

Structure

Experimental structures (PDB)

0 structures.

Predicted structure (AlphaFold)

ModelpLDDTFraction very-high
AF-Q96RN1-F168.440.29

Functional residue map

Curated UniProt residues grouped by drug-discovery relevance — catalytic, ligand-binding, modification, and mutation-validated positions. Source: UniProtKB sequence features.

Glycosylation sites (1): 192

Mutagenesis-validated functional residues (1):

PositionPhenotype
914not a cause of male infertility.

Function

Pathways and Gene Ontology

Reactome pathways

0 pathways

MSigDB gene sets: 103 (showing top): MODULE_255, MODULE_317, GOBP_INORGANIC_ANION_TRANSPORT, GOBP_MALE_GAMETE_GENERATION, GOBP_ORGANIC_ACID_TRANSPORT, GOBP_CHLORIDE_TRANSPORT, GOBP_ORGANIC_ANION_TRANSPORT, GOBP_SULFUR_COMPOUND_TRANSPORT, GOBP_DICARBOXYLIC_ACID_TRANSPORT, GOBP_OXALATE_TRANSPORT, GOBP_DEVELOPMENTAL_PROCESS_INVOLVED_IN_REPRODUCTION, GOBP_TRANSMEMBRANE_TRANSPORT, GOBP_MEIOTIC_CELL_CYCLE, GOCC_MOTILE_CILIUM, MARSON_BOUND_BY_FOXP3_STIMULATED

GO Biological Process (9): chloride transport (GO:0006821), spermatogenesis (GO:0007283), oxalate transport (GO:0019532), cell differentiation (GO:0030154), meiotic cell cycle (GO:0051321), sulfate transmembrane transport (GO:1902358), chloride transmembrane transport (GO:1902476), monoatomic ion transport (GO:0006811), transmembrane transport (GO:0055085)

GO Molecular Function (7): chloride channel activity (GO:0005254), sulfate transmembrane transporter activity (GO:0015116), oxalate transmembrane transporter activity (GO:0019531), chloride:bicarbonate antiporter activity (GO:0140900), sulfate:chloride antiporter activity (GO:0160044), protein binding (GO:0005515), antiporter activity (GO:0015297)

GO Cellular Component (3): plasma membrane (GO:0005886), sperm annulus (GO:0097227), membrane (GO:0016020)

GO top-level categories

Rollup of top GO terms by namespace:

CategoryTerms
chloride transmembrane transporter activity3
inorganic anion transport2
transport2
solute:inorganic anion antiporter activity2
cellular anatomical structure2
monoatomic anion transport1
developmental process involved in reproduction1
male gamete generation1
dicarboxylic acid transport1
cellular developmental process1
cell cycle1
sexual reproduction1
reproductive process1
meiotic nuclear division1
transmembrane transport1
sulfur compound transport1
chloride transport1
monoatomic anion transmembrane transport1
cellular process1
monoatomic anion channel activity1
sulfur compound transmembrane transporter activity1
sulfate transmembrane transport1
dicarboxylic acid transmembrane transporter activity1
oxalate transport1
bicarbonate:monoatomic anion antiporter activity1
secondary active sulfate transmembrane transporter activity1
binding1
secondary active transmembrane transporter activity1
membrane1
cell periphery1
sperm flagellum1

Protein interactions and networks

STRING

1222 interactions, top by confidence (×1000):

Protein AProtein BPartner UniProtScore
SLC26A8RACGAP1Q9H0H5932
SLC26A8ANLNQ9NQW6767
SLC26A8ECT2Q9H8V3684
SLC26A8CFTRP13569623
SLC26A8KIF23Q02241587
SLC26A8DNAJB13P59910506
SLC26A8SLC26A9Q7LBE3498
SLC26A8MYL2P10916497
SLC26A8SLC26A3P40879490
SLC26A8SLC26A4O43511479
SLC26A8DRC9Q9H095468
SLC26A8GARIN2Q8N9W8455
SLC26A8SEPTIN4O43236443
SLC26A8DPY19L2Q6NUT2440
SLC26A8MYH13Q9UKX3440

IntAct

6 interactions, top by confidence:

ABTypeScore
SLC26A8RACGAP1psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.510
RACGAP1SLC26A8psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.510
CFTRSLC26A8psi-mi:“MI:0915”(physical association)0.400
SLC26A8PSMD12psi-mi:“MI:0914”(association)0.350

BioGRID (89): SLC26A8 (Two-hybrid), SLC26A8 (Reconstituted Complex), AAAS (Affinity Capture-MS), ABCC4 (Affinity Capture-MS), ADCK2 (Affinity Capture-MS), AMFR (Affinity Capture-MS), BAG2 (Affinity Capture-MS), BAG5 (Affinity Capture-MS), BAG6 (Affinity Capture-MS), C6orf120 (Affinity Capture-MS), CDKAL1 (Affinity Capture-MS), CLPTM1 (Affinity Capture-MS), DNAJB1 (Affinity Capture-MS), DNAJB12 (Affinity Capture-MS), DNAJB4 (Affinity Capture-MS)

ESM2 similar proteins: A0A0G2K1Q8, A0AV02, A2A6C4, A5D7L5, A6QNW6, B1MTL0, B2RXE2, C1BKZ7, O18917, P04920, P0DX17, P13808, P16283, P23347, P23348, P35523, P35524, P48746, P48751, P58295, Q0P5V9, Q14940, Q15043, Q15477, Q3MJ16, Q504Y0, Q50L42, Q5FWH7, Q5RB85, Q5RD44, Q64347, Q6A4L1, Q6SJP2, Q761V0, Q8BXR1, Q8CJI3, Q8K0H7, Q8R420, Q8VI23, Q91WD2

Diamond homologs: A6QNW6, Q4R445, Q8R0C3, Q96RN1, P40879, Q8BU91, Q924C9, Q9WVC8, A0FKN5, A4IIF2, A8J6J0, G3C7W6, O43511, O70531, P45380, P50443, P58735, P58743, Q5EBI0, Q5RAL2, Q62273, Q65AC2, Q69DJ1, Q7LBE3, Q7T2C4, Q86WA9, Q8CIW6, Q8HY59, Q8NG04, Q8R2Z3, Q8TE54, Q99NH7, Q9BEG8, Q9BXS9, Q9EPH0, Q9GJY3, Q9H2B4, Q9JKQ2, Q9R154, Q9R155

SIGNOR signaling

0 interactions.

Disease & clinical

Clinical variants and AI predictions

ClinVar

184 variants total. Per-class counts are floors (≥ shown; pagination cap):

ClassificationCount (floor)
Pathogenic3
Likely pathogenic0
Uncertain significance112
Likely benign24
Benign30

Top pathogenic / likely-pathogenic (3)

Variant IDHGVSClassification
1686928NM_052961.4(SLC26A8):c.290T>C (p.Leu97Pro)Pathogenic
1686929NM_052961.4(SLC26A8):c.1664del (p.Ile555fs)Pathogenic
50909NM_052961.4(SLC26A8):c.260G>A (p.Arg87Gln)Pathogenic

SpliceAI

3449 predictions. Top by Δscore:

VariantEffectΔscore
6:35951158:CTGA:Cdonor_loss1.0000
6:35951161:ACCTT:Adonor_loss1.0000
6:35951162:CC:Cdonor_loss1.0000
6:35951348:C:CCacceptor_gain1.0000
6:35951443:A:ACdonor_gain1.0000
6:35951444:C:CCdonor_gain1.0000
6:35959457:AAC:Adonor_gain1.0000
6:35959458:AC:Adonor_gain1.0000
6:35959459:CC:Cdonor_gain1.0000
6:35962524:A:ACdonor_gain1.0000
6:35962525:C:CCdonor_gain1.0000
6:35962525:CA:Cdonor_gain1.0000
6:35975370:CATA:Cdonor_loss1.0000
6:35975371:ATAC:Adonor_loss1.0000
6:35975372:TA:Tdonor_loss1.0000
6:35975374:CCTGT:Cdonor_loss1.0000
6:36019584:T:TAdonor_gain1.0000
6:36019707:TTC:Tacceptor_gain1.0000
6:36019718:G:GCacceptor_gain1.0000
6:36027841:G:GTdonor_gain1.0000
6:36028269:GTGTG:Gdonor_gain1.0000
6:35944337:CATT:Cacceptor_gain0.9900
6:35944339:TT:Tacceptor_gain0.9900
6:35944339:TTCTG:Tacceptor_loss0.9900
6:35944341:C:CCacceptor_gain0.9900
6:35944341:CT:Cacceptor_loss0.9900
6:35948901:AAAC:Adonor_gain0.9900
6:35948915:TTCC:Tdonor_gain0.9900
6:35948916:TCC:Tdonor_gain0.9900
6:35951219:A:Cdonor_gain0.9900

AlphaMissense

6404 scored. Top likely-pathogenic:

VariantProtein changeam_pathogenicity
6:35951264:C:GA791P0.997
6:35977273:G:CS368R0.997
6:35977273:G:TS368R0.997
6:35977275:T:GS368R0.997
6:35951263:G:TA791D0.996
6:35951280:G:CF785L0.993
6:35951280:G:TF785L0.993
6:35951282:A:GF785L0.993
6:35951284:A:GL784P0.993
6:35955207:A:GL726P0.993
6:35960869:A:CY538D0.993
6:35997748:C:TG206E0.993
6:35997749:C:AG206W0.993
6:35951251:G:TA795D0.992
6:35955210:A:TI725N0.992
6:35959724:A:GL574P0.992
6:35975453:A:CS403R0.992
6:35975453:A:TS403R0.992
6:35975455:T:GS403R0.992
6:35975472:C:TG397D0.992
6:35997749:C:GG206R0.992
6:35997749:C:TG206R0.992
6:36000015:C:TG141E0.991
6:35951266:T:AD790V0.990
6:35951281:A:GF785S0.990
6:35951462:A:GL757P0.990
6:35975473:C:GG397R0.990
6:35951267:C:GD790H0.989
6:35951274:G:CS787R0.989
6:35951274:G:TS787R0.989

dbSNP variants (sampled 300 via entrez): RS1000029900 (6:36001772 T>C), RS1000096172 (6:36025400 G>A), RS1000128682 (6:35948773 G>A), RS1000131575 (6:35992194 G>A), RS1000215599 (6:35980606 G>T), RS1000262311 (6:35975550 T>C), RS1000314065 (6:35975849 G>A,T), RS1000314159 (6:35979069 C>G), RS1000341548 (6:35998346 A>T), RS1000346545 (6:36008867 A>G), RS1000428773 (6:35979293 C>T), RS1000429223 (6:36015704 C>A,G,T), RS1000490034 (6:36022831 G>A), RS1000520385 (6:35987276 T>G), RS1000524052 (6:35943746 G>A)

Disease associations

OMIM: gene MIM:608480 | disease phenotypes: MIM:606766

GenCC curated gene-disease

DiseaseClassificationInheritance
non-syndromic male infertility due to sperm motility disorderStrongAutosomal recessive
spermatogenic failure 3LimitedAutosomal dominant

Mondo (2): spermatogenic failure 3 (MONDO:0011720), (MONDO:0017173)

Orphanet (1): Non-syndromic male infertility due to sperm motility disorder (Orphanet:276234)

HPO phenotypes

4 total (4 of 4 shown, HPO-id order):

HPOTerm
HP:0000006Autosomal dominant inheritance
HP:0003251Male infertility
HP:0011462Young adult onset
HP:0012207Reduced sperm motility

GWAS associations

3 associations (top):

StudyTraitp-value
GCST007355_3Antidepressant treatment resistance (> 2 drugs prescribed)4.000000e-07
GCST012490_19Femur bone mineral density x serum urate levels interaction6.000000e-13
GCST90000025_496Appendicular lean mass2.000000e-18

EFO canonical traits (2, from GWAS)

EFO IDTrait name
EFO:0004531urate measurement
EFO:0004980appendicular lean mass

MeSH disease descriptors (1)

DescriptorNameTree numbers
C564665Azoospermia, Nonobstructive (supp.)

Drugs & pharmacology

Drug and pharmacology data

Is drug target: no

PharmGKB: 1 entry (VIP=true, CPIC=false)

GtoPdb / IUPHAR curated pharmacology

(IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology — expert-curated)

Target class: transporter — Other SLC26 anion exchangers

CTD chemical–gene interactions

9 total (human), top 9 by PubMed support.

ChemicalActions (top 5)PubMed papers
bisphenol Adecreases methylation1
potassium perchloratedecreases expression1
sodium arseniteincreases expression1
CGP 52608affects binding, increases reaction1
Norethindrone Acetateincreases expression, affects cotreatment1
Benzo(a)pyreneincreases methylation1
Cadmiumincreases abundance, increases expression1
Estradiolaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
Cadmium Chlorideincreases abundance, increases expression1

Cellosaurus cell lines

2 cell lines: 2 transformed cell line

First 10 cell lines (id-ordered, not curated):

CellosaurusNameCategorySex
CVCL_D4E2HEK-SLC26A8-KO-c1Transformed cell lineFemale
CVCL_D4E3HEK-SLC26A8-KO-c2Transformed cell lineFemale

Clinical trials (associated diseases)

0 trials via MONDO — disease-level, not drug-specific.