Flot2, also known as flotillin-2, is a lipid raft scaffold protein. It is thought to be involved in various cellular processes, potentially including endocytosis as it can be phosphorylated by Fyn, a Src kinase [3]. Flot2 may play a role in neural differentiation, as its expression and localization to lipid rafts change during the neural differentiation of P19C6 cells [3].

In disease-related studies, Flot2 deficiency in B cells (sorted from Flot2 knockout (Flot2-/-) mice) leads to upregulated effector B cell cytokines (such as Il6, Il1b and Cxcl10), aggravating sepsis with increased lung injury and shortened survival time in vivo [1]. In proteinuric kidney disease, podocyte-specific Flot2 deletion worsens albuminuria, podocyte injury and glomerular pathology in LPS/ADR-induced nephropathy mouse models, while podocyte-specific Flot2 overexpression transgenic mice are protected from such injuries [2].

In conclusion, Flot2 is a crucial protein involved in multiple biological processes. Studies using Flot2 knockout or conditional knockout mouse models have revealed its significance in diseases like sepsis and proteinuric kidney disease. These models help understand the role of Flot2 in specific biological processes, providing insights into potential therapeutic targets for related diseases.

References:

1. Yang, Qin, Zhang, Zhenhua, Chen, Ziye, Wang, Junjian, Li, Xiaojuan. 2023. Flot2 deficiency facilitates B cell-mediated inflammatory responses and endotoxic shock. In Immunology, 170, 567-578. doi:10.1111/imm.13692. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37688314/

2. Yu, Chunping, Zhang, Hong, Liu, Shuangxin, Zhang, Li, Shi, Wei. 2023. Flot2 acts as a novel mediator of podocyte injury in proteinuric kidney disease. In International journal of biological sciences, 19, 502-520. doi:10.7150/ijbs.78945. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36632460/

3. Hanafusa, Kei, Hayashi, Nobuhiro. 2019. The Flot2 component of the lipid raft changes localization during neural differentiation of P19C6 cells. In BMC molecular and cell biology, 20, 38. doi:10.1186/s12860-019-0225-0. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31455216/