ABSTRACT
Address correspondence to: David E James, Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 4072, QLD, Australia. Phone: 61-733654986; Email: D.James@cmcb.uq.edu.au
INSULIN STIMULATES GLUCOSE TRANSPORT IN MUSCLE AND FAT CELLS
Glucose transport into muscle and fat cells can be up-regulated over a 10-100 fold range within minutes to provide a rapid source of energy during muscle contraction and/or facilitate the rapid removal of glucose from the blood stream following a meal. Many eucaryotic cells exhibit a form of regulated glucose transport but this usually involves transcriptional regulation and the time course of induction is too slow to meet the acute metabolic demands imposed by either exercise or eating. In recent years it has become evident that muscle and fat cells have evolved a specific glucose transport system which is uniquely suited to provide both a large and rapid increase in glucose transport in response to extrinsic cues such as insulin and exercise.
