Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism in humans and great apes, which have lost hepatic uricase activity, leading to uniquely high serum uric acid concentrations (200–500 M) compared with other mammals (3–120 M)¹. About 70% of daily urate disposal occurs via the kidneys, and in 5–25% of the human population, impaired renal excretion leads to hyperuricemia². About 10% of people with hyperuricemia develop gout, an inflammatory arthritis that results from deposition of monosodium urate crystals in the joint. We have identified genetic variants within a transporter gene, SLC2A9, that explain 1.7–5.3% of the variance in serum uric acid concentrations, following a genome-wide association scan in a Croatian population sample. SLC2A9 variants were also associated with low fractional excretion of uric acid and/or gout in UK, Croatian and German population samples. SLC2A9 is a known fructose transporter³, and we now show that it has strong uric acid transport activity in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

1. MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
2. Community Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK.
3. Croatian Centre for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia.
4. Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.
5. Population Pharmacogenetics Group, Biomedical Research Centre, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY, UK.
6. Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
7. Department of Internal Medicine, Divisions of Pathological Biochemistry and Rheumatology, Carl Gustav Carus Medical School, University of Technology Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany.
8. Purine Research Laboratory, Department of Chemical Pathology, Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital, King's College, London SE1 9RT, UK.
9. Rheumatic Diseases Unit, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
10. Colon Cancer Genetics Group, School of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
11. Institute for Anthropological Research, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
12. School of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Edinburgh, The Chancellor's Building, Edinburgh EH16 4SB, UK.
13. Diabetes Research Group, Division of Medicine and Therapeutics, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY, UK.
14. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to: Alan F Wright¹ e-mail: alan.wright@hgu.mrc.ac.uk

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