engleski

Glucose transporters in the mammalian blood cells

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.

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

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