Combined deletion of Glut1 and Glut3 impairs lung adenocarcinoma growth

Glucose utilization increases in tumors, a metabolic process that is observed clinically by ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (¹⁸F-FDG-PET). However, is increased glucose uptake important for tumor cells, and which transporters are implicated in vivo? In a genetically-engineered mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma, we show that the deletion of only one highly expressed glucose transporter, Glut1 or Glut3, in cancer cells does not impair tumor growth, whereas their combined loss diminishes tumor development. ¹⁸F-FDG-PET analyses of tumors demonstrate that Glut1 and Glut3 loss decreases glucose uptake, which is mainly dependent on Glut1. Using ¹³C-glucose tracing with correlated nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) and electron microscopy, we also report the presence of lamellar body-like organelles in tumor cells accumulating glucose-derived biomass, depending partially on Glut1. Our results demonstrate the requirement for two glucose transporters in lung adenocarcinoma, the dual blockade of which could reach therapeutic responses not achieved by individual targeting.