Molecular cloning and functional characterization of KCC3, a new K-Cl cotransporter

We isolated and characterized a novel K-Cl cotransporter, KCC3, from human placenta. The deduced protein contains 1,150 amino acids. KCC3 shares 75-76% identity at the amino acid level with human, pig, rat, and rabbit KCC1 and 67% identity with rat KCC2. KCC3 is 40 and 33% identical to two Caenorhabditis elegans K-Cl cotransporters and approximately 20% identical to other members of the cation-chloride cotransporter family (CCC), two Na-K-Cl...