Cellular Glucose Transport
Cellular Glucose Transport - Related Videos
05:52
In Vitro Glucose Depletion Assay: A Fluorescence-Based Method to Quantify Cellular Glucose Uptake via Extracellular Glucose Depletion Measurement
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2025
This video demonstrates an in vitro assay to indirectly measure intracellular glucose uptake. The assay uses a fluorescently-labeled glucose analog to establish a correlation between extracellular glucose depletion and intracellular glucose uptake.
01:27
Glucose Transporters
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2023
Glucose transporters facilitate the transport of glucose across the cell membrane. In addition to glucose, some glucose transporters can also aid the movement of other hexoses such as fructose, mannose, and galactose. Facilitated diffusion-glucose transporters (GLUTs) are encoded by the solute-linked carrier (SLC) family 2, subfamily A gene family, or SLC2A. The 14 GLUT protein members are distributed into three classes: Class I comprises GLUT1 to GLUT4 and GLUT14. Class II has GLUT5, GLUT7,...
06:28
A Simple Flow Cytometric Method to Measure Glucose Uptake and Glucose Transporter Expression for Monocyte Subpopulations in Whole Blood
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Cited by 13 •
2016
Monocytes are integral components of the human innate immune system that rely on glycolytic metabolism when activated. We describe a flow cytometry protocol to measure glucose transporter expression and glucose uptake by total monocytes and monocyte subpopulations in fresh whole blood.
01:24
Cellular Membranes and Drug Transport
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2024
Drugs must traverse multiple biological barriers, such as multi-layered skin, single-layered intestinal epithelium, and the plasma membrane, to reach their target sites within the body. The plasma membrane, a highly structured composite of phospholipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, is the cell's protective boundary, facilitating selective substance exchange. Phospholipids arrange themselves into a bilayer, with hydrophilic heads oriented outward and hydrophobic tails facing inward.
18:57
Models and Methods to Evaluate Transport of Drug Delivery Systems Across Cellular Barriers
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Cited by 58 •
2013
Many therapeutic applications require safe and efficient transport of drug carriers and their cargoes across cellular barriers in the body. This article describes an adaptation of established methods to evaluate the rate and mechanism of transport of drug nanocarriers (NCs) across cellular barriers, such as the gastrointestinal (GI) epithelium.
FAQs
The two systems differ in their driving force. Facilitative glucose transporters move glucose down its concentration gradient, whereas sodium-glucose cotransporters use the sodium gradient to support uptake against a glucose gradient. This distinction helps researchers determine whether glucose entry depends primarily on the existing glucose distribution or on sodium-linked transport activity.
Insulin increases glucose uptake by promoting GLUT4 insertion into the cell membranes of muscle and adipose cells. The key regulatory event is therefore a change in transporter presence at the membrane rather than simply a change in the glucose molecule itself. Measuring uptake alongside GLUT4-related activity can reveal how insulin signaling affects cellular metabolism.
Glucose uptake depends on the concentration gradient for facilitative transport and on the sodium gradient for sodium-glucose cotransport. Insulin provides an additional regulatory influence in muscle and adipose tissue by promoting GLUT4 insertion. Comparing uptake under different gradient or insulin conditions can help separate transport mechanisms from regulatory effects.
These measurements connect membrane transport with broader metabolic behavior. Uptake data indicate how much glucose enters cells, while transporter-activity measurements help identify the mechanism contributing to that movement. Together, they can show how altered transport relates to cellular energetics, metabolic regulation, or responses to experimental conditions such as insulin exposure or drug treatment.
A study can compare glucose uptake or transporter activity across defined biological conditions, then relate the results to the relevant transport mechanism. Conditions may be selected to examine concentration gradients, sodium-dependent uptake, insulin effects, or drug responses. This approach allows investigators to connect a measurable transport change with altered cell function rather than treating uptake as an isolated result.
Glucose transport provides a measurable link between membrane processes and metabolic health. In diabetes research, investigators can examine insulin-associated uptake changes; in cancer metabolism, they can study altered glucose use; and in drug-response studies, they can assess whether treatment changes uptake or transporter activity. These applications extend the technique from mechanism-focused experiments to disease and intervention research.