Differential targeting of facilitative glucose transporters in polarized epithelial cells

We have examined the intracellular localization of five facilitative glucose transporter proteins, one endogenous (GLUT-1) and four exogenous (GLUT-2, -3, -4, and -5), in polarized epithelial cells. GLUT-2, -3, -4, and -5 were stably transfected into Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, and peptide-specific antibodies were used to establish their distribution by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron-microscopic techniques. GLUT-1 and -2 were predominantly targeted to the basolateral domain of the cell, whereas GLUT-3 and -5 were targeted to the apical plasma membrane. The insulin-regulatable glucose transporter GLUT-4 was found in intracellular tubulovesicular structures beneath the surface of the cell. Vectorial 2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake measurements revealed that approximately 95% of glucose entry into wild-type MDCK cells occurs via the basolateral membranes. In GLUT-3-transfected cells, however, apical glucose uptake increased to approximately 55%; this was not observed in cells expressing the other GLUT isoforms. The discrete and differential intracellular localizations of the various GLUTs, in addition to the high level of sequence homology and predicted secondary structure similarity, render the GLUT family ideal for the study of intrinsic targeting motifs involved in the establishment and maintenance of cellular polarity.