GLUT1

4PYP, 5EQH, 5EQI, 5EQG651320525ENSG00000117394ENSMUSG00000028645P11166P17809NM_006516NM_011400NP_006507NP_035530Glucose transporter 1 (or GLUT1), also known as solute carrier family 2, facilitated glucose transporter member 1 (SLC2A1), is a uniporter protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC2A1 gene. GLUT1 facilitates the transport of glucose across the plasma membranes of mammalian cells. This gene encodes a major glucose transporter in the mammalian blood-brain barrier. The encoded protein is found primarily in the cell membrane and on the cell surface, where it can also function as a receptor for human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) I and II. Mutations in this gene can cause GLUT1 deficiency syndrome 1, GLUT1 deficiency syndrome 2, idiopathic generalized epilepsy 12, dystonia 9, and stomatin-deficient cryohydrocytosis. Glucose transporter 1 (or GLUT1), also known as solute carrier family 2, facilitated glucose transporter member 1 (SLC2A1), is a uniporter protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC2A1 gene. GLUT1 facilitates the transport of glucose across the plasma membranes of mammalian cells. This gene encodes a major glucose transporter in the mammalian blood-brain barrier. The encoded protein is found primarily in the cell membrane and on the cell surface, where it can also function as a receptor for human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) I and II. Mutations in this gene can cause GLUT1 deficiency syndrome 1, GLUT1 deficiency syndrome 2, idiopathic generalized epilepsy 12, dystonia 9, and stomatin-deficient cryohydrocytosis. GLUT1 was the first glucose transporter to be characterized. GLUT 1 is highly conserved. GLUT 1 of humans and mice have 98% identity at the amino acid level. GLUT 1 is encoded by the SLC2 gene and is one of a family of 14 genes encoding GLUT proteins. The SLC2A1 gene is located on the p arm of chromosome 1 in position 34.2 and has 10 exons spanning 33,802 base pairs. The gene produces a 54.1 kDa protein composed of 492 amino acids. It is a multi-pass protein located in the cell membrane. This protein lacks a signal sequence; its C-terminus, N-terminus, and the very hydrophilic domain in the protein's center are all predicted to lie on the cytoplasmic side of the cell membrane. GLUT1 behaves as a Michaelis-Menten enzyme and contains 12 membrane-spanning alpha helices, each containing 20 amino acid residues. A helical wheel analysis shows that the membrane spanning alpha helices are amphipathic, with one side being polar and the other side hydrophobic. Six of these membrane spanning helices are believed to bind together in the membrane to create a polar channel in the center through which glucose can traverse, with the hydrophobic regions on the outside of the channel adjacent to the fatty acid tails of the membrane. Energy-yielding metabolism in erythrocytes depends on a constant supply of glucose from the blood plasma, where the glucose concentration is maintained at about 5mM. Glucose enters the erythrocyte by facilitated diffusion via a specific glucose transporter, at a rate about 50,000 times greater than uncatalyzed transmembrane diffusion. The glucose transporter of erythrocytes (called GLUT1 to distinguish it from related glucose transporters in other tissues) is a type III integral protein with 12 hydrophobic segments, each of which is believed to form a membrane-spanning helix. The detailed structure of GLUT1 is not known yet, but one plausible model suggests that the side-by-side assembly of several helices produces a transmembrane channel lined with hydrophilic residues that can hydrogen-bond with glucose as it moves through the channel. GLUT1 is responsible for the low level of basal glucose uptake required to sustain respiration in all cells. Expression levels of GLUT1 in cell membranes are increased by reduced glucose levels and decreased by increased glucose levels. GLUT1 is also a major receptor for uptake of Vitamin C as well as glucose, especially in non vitamin C producing mammals as part of an adaptation to compensate by participating in a Vitamin C recycling process. In mammals that do produce Vitamin C, GLUT4 is often expressed instead of GLUT1. GLUT1 expression occurs in almost all tissues, with the degree of expression typically correlating with the rate of cellular glucose metabolism. In the adult it is expressed at highest levels in erythrocytes and also in the endothelial cells of barrier tissues such as the blood–brain barrier. Mutations in the GLUT1 gene are responsible for GLUT1 deficiency or De Vivo disease, which is a rare autosomal dominant disorder. This disease is characterized by a low cerebrospinal fluid glucose concentration (hypoglycorrhachia), a type of neuroglycopenia, which results from impaired glucose transport across the blood–brain barrier.