Na⁺/H⁺ exchangers (NHEs) also termed solute carrier family 9 (SLC9), are proteins that function as ion transporters. NHEs are present across all kingdoms of life from prokaryotes to eukaryotes and are found to be crucial in preventing intracellular acidification. NHEs are divided into 3 groups SLC9A (NHE1-9), SLC9B (NHA1 and NHA2) and SLC9C according to their cellular location and their function. NHEs regulates cell volume and pH of the cytosol and organelles¹.

NHE7 is an NHE that is localized predominantly to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and post-Golgi vesicles. NHE7 differ from other NHEs by its ability to transport both Na⁺ and K⁺ via a H⁺ gradient-dependent manner². NHE7 mRNA is expressed in wide range of cells but is especially abundant in the brain, skeletal muscle and various secretory tissues³.

The predicted membrane topology of NHE7 consist of 12 transmembrane domains (TMDs) and a single N-glycosylation site at position 145. Similarly to the other SLC9A isoforms NHE7 can be assembled as a homodimer. It was recently found that a missense variant in NHE7 associates with multigenerational nonsyndromic intellectual disability (ID)³.