Sodium/calcium exchanger 2

Sodium/calcium exchanger 2 (SLC8A2) is a membrane transporter that mediates electrogenic exchange of calcium against sodium ions across the cell membrane (UniProt: Q9UPR5). This exchanger contributes to cytoplasmic calcium homeostasis in excitable cells and plays a critical role in rapidly decreasing cytoplasmic calcium levels following neuronal activation, thereby modulating synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory.

SLC8A2 is primarily expressed in excitable tissues and functions in calcium-dependent cellular processes essential for neuronal function. While UniProt reports no curated disease associations, the protein's role in calcium homeostasis and synaptic regulation positions it within pathways relevant to neurological disease.

SLC8A2 is down-regulated in Alzheimer's Disease brain tissue relative to age-matched controls (Chaparral AD proteomics), with a mean log2 fold-change of −0.144 across one subcellular fraction in human post-mortem AD brain analyzed by TMT-labeled, data-dependent acquisition proteomics (ad_evidence: direction down). This reduction may reflect compromised calcium homeostasis mechanisms in AD pathology.