Review article

Glucose transporters in the mammalian blood cells

IVANA VRHOVAC orcid.org/0000-0002-4736-0885 ; Molecular Toxicology Unit Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health Ksaverska cesta 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
DAVORKA BRELJAK ; Molecular Toxicology Unit Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health Ksaverska cesta 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
IVAN SABOLIĆ orcid.org/0000-0002-2587-9109 ; Molecular Toxicology Unit Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health Ksaverska cesta 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

Glucose is the main source of metabolic energy for various cellular functions,
and thus plays a central role in supporting intermediary metabolism
and cellular homeostasis. Since plasma membrane is impermeable to glucose,
its cellular uptake is mediated by two distinct processes via specific glucose
transporter proteins that belong to the family of solute carriers (SLC); the
SLC2 family members, GLUTs (glucose transporters), are sodium-independent
facilitators of the glucose transport, whereas the SLC5 family members,
SGLTs (sodium and glucose transporters) mediate the secondary-active sodium-
glucose cotransport. Until now, 14 GLUTs and 12 SGLTs isoforms have
been identified in humans of which 5 GLUTs and none SGLTs were detected
in the mammalian blood cells. Detailed physiological function, precise
mechanism of transport, substrates affinity, exact three-dimensional structures,
and a precise tissue distribution of most GLUTs in various mammalian
organs, including blood, have been poorly explored. In this review we
will focus on GLUTs in the mammalian blood cells, where the data on their
expression and functional roles are contradictory or largely missing. Since
many GLUTs are associated with diabetes, and are up-regulated in cancers,
it is undoubtedly important to further investigate GLUTs expression in different
organs/tissues, including the blood cells. Understanding the complexity
of glucose homeostasis that includes knowledge about tissue distribution and
function of GLUTs, as well as the signaling pathways that regulate glucose
metabolism, may help to develop new therapeutic strategies to target specific
diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, some autoimmunity diseases, and cancer.

Keywords

GLUT; red blood cells; leukocytes; macrophages; SGLT; CD68

Hrčak ID:

126350

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/126350

Publication date:

31.7.2014.

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