[6] DMT1 represents a large family of orthologous metal ion transporter proteins that are highly conserved from bacteria to humans.

[7] As its name suggests, DMT1 binds a variety of divalent metals including cadmium (Cd2+), copper (Cu2+), and zinc (Zn2+,); however, it is best known for its role in transporting ferrous iron (Fe2+).

[8] In the digestive tract, it is located on the apical membrane of enterocytes, where it carries out H+-coupled transport of divalent metal cations from the intestinal lumen into the cell.

[10] Although, the reason that non-specific ion transporters, such as DMT1, exist is due to their ability to function in anaerobic environments opposed to the Fet3/FTR1 pathway which requires oxygen as a co substrate.

DMT1 expression is found to be increased in the substantia nigra of Parkinson's patients and in the ventral mesencephalon of animal models intoxicated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) - a neurotoxin widely used experimentally to produce Parkinsonian symptoms.

The DMT1 encoding gene SLC11A2 is located on the long arm of chromosome 12 (12q13) close to susceptibility regions for Alzheimer's disease[14] and restless legs syndrome.

[16] Finally, variant alleles on several SLC11A2 SNPs are associated with iron anemia, a risk factor for manganese intoxication and restless legs syndrome.