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Review
. 2016 Mar;8(1):5-9.
doi: 10.1007/s12551-015-0186-2. Epub 2016 Jan 19.

Glucose transporters: physiological and pathological roles

Archana M Navale  1 , Archana N Paranjape  2
Affiliations
Review

Glucose transporters: physiological and pathological roles

Archana M Navale et al. Biophys Rev. 2016 Mar.

Abstract

Glucose is a primary energy source for most cells and an important substrate for many biochemical reactions. As glucose is a need of each and every cell of the body, so are the glucose transporters. Consequently, all cells express these important proteins on their surface. In recent years developments in genetics have shed new light on the types and physiology of various glucose transporters, of which there are two main types-sodium-glucose linked transporters (SGLTs) and facilitated diffusion glucose transporters (GLUT)-which can be divided into many more subclasses. Transporters differ in terms of their substrate specificity, distribution and regulatory mechanisms. Glucose transporters have also received much attention as therapeutic targets for various diseases. In this review, we attempt to present a simplified view of this complex topic which may be of interest to researchers involved in biochemical and pharmacological research.

Keywords: Anti-cancer agents; Anti-diabetic agents; GLUT; Glucose transporters; SGLT.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

Archana M. Navale declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Archana N. Paranjape declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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