Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1990 Apr;87(8):3244-7.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.8.3244.

Glucose transporters serve as water channels

J Fischbarg  1 , K Y Kuang, J C Vera, S Arant, S C Silverstein, J Loike, O M Rosen
Affiliations

Glucose transporters serve as water channels

J Fischbarg et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Apr.

Abstract

Water traverses the plasma membranes of some eukaryotic cells faster than can be explained by the water permeability of their lipid bilayers. This has led to a search for a water channel. Our previous work identified glucose transporters as candidates for such a channel. We report here that Xenopus laevis oocytes injected with mRNA encoding the brain/Hep G2, adult skeletal muscle/adipocyte, or liver forms of the glucose transporter exhibit an osmotic water permeability of their plasma membranes larger than that of untreated oocytes. The osmotic water permeability component attributable to glucose transporters increased an average of 4.8-fold in the injected oocytes. These studies provide direct evidence that the facilitative, sodium-independent mammalian glucose transporters serve as membrane water channels.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. J Biol Chem. 1986 Jul 15;261(20):9155-60 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1985 Sep 6;229(4717):941-5 - PubMed
    1. J Physiol. 1983 Jun;339:339-54 - PubMed
    1. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1981 Jun 16;650(1):1-20 - PubMed
    1. J Membr Biol. 1981 Apr 30;59(3):155-71 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources