Magnesium ion (Mg2+) is an essential divalent cation, and intracellular Mg2+ concentration is tightly controlled by various Mg2+ transporters. Therefore, Mg2+ transporter dysfunction may consequently lead to a variety of diseases, such as cardiovascular, neuronal, and muscular diseases. Recently, several candidate genes for Mg2+ transporters have been identified. However, the regulation mechanisms of Mg2+ homeostasis are mostly unknown. To clarify these issues, we focused on Mg2+-permeable non-selective cation channel TRPM7, and generated kidney-specific transgenic mouse model overexpressing the dominant negative TRPM7 mutant (M7DN-Tg), as an experimental tool. We confirmed that TRPM7 currents in HEK293 cells were almost completely inhibited by co-expression of the M7DN construct. We found that M7DN-Tg exhibited dysregulation of serum Mg2+ level and urinary Mg2+ excretion. Interestingly, vascular contractile responses in M7DN-Tg were significantly attenuated compared to the responses in wild-type mice. In M7DN-Tg, Mg2+-enriched diet recovered the abnormal responses to the normal level. These results suggest that TRPM7 is involved in the regulation of Mg2+ homeostasis. M7DN-Tg will be a useful animal model for studying magnesium disorders.

To: 要旨(抄録)