Glucose Transporter 1 in Health and Disease

Yi Tai1,2, Zhihao Chen3, Yuping Zhu1,2

  • 1Department of Colorectal Surgery Zhejiang Cancer Hospital Hangzhou China.

Medcomm
|July 24, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Glucose Transporter 1 (GLUT1) fuels cancer growth and immune evasion. Novel precision therapies targeting GLUT1 offer a promising strategy for effective immuno-oncology with reduced toxicity.

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Glucose Transporters01:27

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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:
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Glucose Absorption Into the Small Intestine

Complex carbohydrates consumed cannot be absorbed into the small intestine in their original form. First, they must be hydrolyzed to a monosaccharide form such as glucose or galactose. These monosaccharides are then transported across the intestinal membrane and into the blood via transcellular transport. The intestinal epithelial cells allow the movement of these monosaccharides with a defined 'entry' through membrane transporter proteins present on their apical membrane and 'exit' via the...
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Secondary Active Transport

One example of how cells use the energy contained in electrochemical gradients is demonstrated by glucose transport into cells. The ion vital to this process is sodium (Na+), which is typically present in higher concentrations extracellularly than in the cytosol. Such a concentration difference is due, in part, to the action of an enzyme "pump" embedded in the cellular membrane that actively expels Na+ from a cell. Importantly, as this pump contributes to the high concentration of...
Secondary Active Transport01:55

Secondary Active Transport

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