Transport of vitamin C in animal and human cells.
The transport systems of animal and human tissues for vitamin C are reviewed with respect to their properties. It emerges that pure diffusion plays only a very minor role while a variety of more or less specific transporters is found on cellular membranes. Although most tissues prefer the reduced ascorbate over the oxidized dehydroascorbic acid and have high-affinity transporters for it, there are several examples for the reversed situation. Special attention is given to similarity or identity with glucose transporters, especially the GLUT-1 and the sodium-dependent intestinal and renal transporters, and to the very widespread dependence of ascorbate transport on sodium ions. The significance of ascorbate transport for vitamin C-requiring and nonrequiring species as well as alterations in states of disease can be seen from ample experimental evidence.
Department of Medical Chemistry, University of Vienna Austria.
H
H
Goldenberg
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E
Schweinzer
D000818:Animals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D001206:Ascorbic Acid Deficiency / Q000378:metabolism; D001692:Biological Transport; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D003683:Dehydroascorbic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D004058:Diffusion; D005947:Glucose / Q000502:physiology; D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1; D006801:Humans; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D012964:Sodium / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013237:Stereoisomerism
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; C495677:SLC2A1 protein, human; D012964:Sodium; D005947:Glucose; D001205:Ascorbic Acid; D003683:Dehydroascorbic Acid