title: Expression of glucose transporter 4 in the human pancreatic islet of Langerhans.
abstract: Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) is the main insulin-responsive glucose transporter in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of human and rodent, and is translocated to the plasma membrane in response to insulin. GLUT2 is well known as the main glucose transporter in pancreatic islets and could highly regulate glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by B-cells as a glucose sensor. We confirmed the presence of GLUT4 mRNA and GLUT4 protein in pancreas in the human. Indirect immunohistochemistry showed that the pancreatic islets of human and rat were conspicuously labeled by anti-GLUT4 antibody. The presence of placental leucine aminopeptidase (P-LAP), a homologue of insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP), was also shown in the human pancreatic islet. IRAP/P-LAP is thought to be involved in glucose metabolism. This study provides the first evidence that GLUT4 is present in human and rat pancreatic islets and may suggest its specific role in glucose homeostasis in conjunction with IRAP/P-LAP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Honami
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mitsui
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Yasumasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kadomatsu
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Muramatsu
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagasaka
authors.forename: Shigehiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mizutani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D010122:Cystinyl Aminopeptidase / Q000378:metabolism; D017931:DNA Primers; D051275:Glucose Transporter Type 4; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism*; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D051275:Glucose Transporter Type 4; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C495692:SLC2A4 protein, human; C495694:Slc2a4 protein, rat; D010122:Cystinyl Aminopeptidase; C105964:leucyl-cystinyl aminopeptidase