Functional Expression of the Human Glucose Transporters GLUT2 and GLUT3 in Yeast Offers Novel Screening Systems for GLUT-Targeting Drugs.

ABSTRACT: Human GLUT2 and GLUT3, members of the GLUT/SLC2 gene family, facilitate glucose transport in specific tissues. Their malfunction or misregulation is associated with serious diseases, including diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. Despite being promising drug targets, GLUTs have only a few specific inhibitors. To identify and characterize potential GLUT2 and GLUT3 ligands, we developed a whole-cell system based on a yeast strain deficient in hexose uptake, whose growth defect on glucose can be rescued by the functional expression of human transporters. The simplicity of handling yeast cells makes this platform convenient for screening potential GLUT2 and GLUT3 inhibitors in a growth-based manner, amenable to high-throughput approaches. Moreover, our expression system is less laborious

SUBMITTER: Schmidl S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7930720 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature