Characterization of the glucose transporter from human erythrocytes

The D-glucose transporter from human erythrocytes has been purified and reconstituted by Kasahara and Hinkle (J Biol Chem 252:7394–7390). Using a similar purification scheme, we have isolated the protein with 65% of the extracted phospholipid at a lipid-protein ratio of 14:1 by weight. The K_D (0.14 μM) and extent (11 nmoles/mg protein) for binding of ³H-cytochalasin B was determined by equilibrium dialysis. Glucose was a linear competitive inhibitor of binding of cytochalasin B, with an inhibition constant of 30 mM. To further characterize the protein, samples were filtered in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) through Sepharose 6B to remove 95% of the lipid followed by filtration of Sephadex G150 to remove the remaining lipid and a contaminating amount of a minor, lower-molecular-weight protein. This preparation contains only 24% acidic and basic amino acids. The protein also contains 5% neutral sugars (of which 3% is galactose), 7% glucosamine, and 5% sialic acid.     

Kinetic properties of the reconstituted glucose transporter from human erythrocytes

The kinetic parameters of D-glucose transport in liposomes reconstituted with the purified glucose transporter were determined. Net uptake and efflux both had Km values of 0.7 to 1.2 mM and Vmax values of 1.6 mumol/mg of protein/min. Equilibrium exchange had a Km of 35 mM and a Vmax of 50 mumol/mg of protein/min. By separating the liposomes from unreconstituted protein using density centrifugation, the Vmax of exchange was increased to 86 mumol/mg of protein/min, about 3 times that of the erythrocyte membrane. Trypsin, which inhibits erythrocyte glucose transport only from the cytoplasmic side, inhibited reconstituted transport activity about 40% when added externally. With internal treatment as well, the inhibition was about 80%. This suggests that the reconstituted transporter is oriented about equally in both directions. Antibody prepared against the purified transporter inhibits transport to a maximum of about 50%, also indicating a scrambled orientation. External trypsin treatment decreased the Km for uptake and increased the Km for efflux, consistent with asymmetric kinetic parameters for the two faces of the transporter. However, the calculated Km values are lower than those reported for erythrocytes. Phloretin and diethylstilbestrol inhibit the reconstituted transporter. However, they bind to liposomes, producing anomalous results under some experimental conditions. When this binding is taken into account, phloretin inhibits completely and symmetrically. The binding accounts for the apparent asymmetric effects of phloretin reported by others. The inhibitory effects of mercuric ions are consistent with action at two classes of binding sites. Treatment with trypsin increases the sensitivity to Hg2+, indicating that the more sensitive site is on the external face of the transporter.     

Monoclonal antibodies to the glucose transporter from human erythrocytes. Identification of the transporter as a Mr = 55,000 protein

Using the preparation of purified glucose transporter from human erythrocytes as antigen, we have prepared and characterized six monoclonal antibodies. Three of these antibodies have been shown to be to the glucose transporter by several criteria: they immunoprecipitate the transport activity, the cytochalasin B binding activity, and 75% of the protein from the solubilized purified preparation. The remaining three antibodies were shown to recognize the same polypeptide by a Western blot procedure. All of the antibodies reacted with the deglycosylated transporter and are thus against peptide determinants; most bound to the cytoplasmic domain of the transporter. The antibodies exhibited a range of effects on cytochalasin B binding, from slight enhancement to modest inhibition to strong inhibition; for this reason they must bind to at least three different epitopes. Western blot analysis of erythrocyte membranes prepared in the presence of protease inhibitors showed that all six antibodies bound to a polypeptide of average Mr = 55,000. Moreover, by immunological assay this polypeptide accounted for 5.3% of the membranes protein, a value similar to that given by cytochalasin B binding. Thus, the proposal that the native transporter is a Mr = 100,000 polypeptide is highly unlikely. The antibodies also react with the glucose transporter in other human cell types, but not with that in rodent or avian cells.     

Kinetics of the purified glucose transporter. Direct measurement of the rates of interconversion of transporter conformers

There is considerable evidence that the mechanism of glucose transport by the transporter of human erythrocytes is one in which the transporter oscillates between two conformations, To and Ti. Each conformer possesses a single glucose binding site that in vivo faces either the extracellular space (conformer To) or the cytoplasm (conformer Ti). In this study, the interconversions of these conformers in the absence and presence of D-glucose have been directly observed by means of the stopped-flow method with fluorescence detection. Nearly unidirectional conversion of one conformer to the other was accomplished by rapidly mixing purified transporter (a mixture of To and Ti) with either 4,6-ethylidene-D-glucose, which preferentially binds to To, or phenyl beta-D-glucoside, which preferentially binds to Ti. The values of the individual rate constants for the conversion of Ti to To and vice versa in the absence and presence of D-glucose at 10.0 degrees C have been obtained, and these show that the kinetics are consistent with the alternating conformation model for transport. Conformational change occurs much more rapidly with glucose bound to the transporter. Furthermore, the activation energy Ea for conformer interconversion is much less when glucose is bound than for unliganded transporter. For example, Ea is approximately 28 kcal/mol for Ti----To versus 17 kcal/mol for Ti + S----ToS, where S is glucose. The alpha-anomer of glucose was 37% more effective than the beta-anomer in speeding the interconversion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Structures of the asparagine-linked sugar chain of glucose transporter from human erythrocytes

The asparagine-linked sugar chain of glucose transporter from human erythrocytes was quantitatively released as oligosaccharides from the polypeptide backbone by hydrazinolysis. They were converted to radioactive oligosaccharides by NaB3H4 reduction after N-acetylation and fractionated by anion-exchange column chromatography and Bio-Gel P-4 column chromatography after sialidase treatment. Structural study of each oligosaccharide by exo- and endoglycosidase digestion and methylation analysis indicated that the glycoprotein contains a high-mannose-type oligosaccharide, Man9.GlcNAc.GlcNAc, and biantennary complex-type oligosaccharides with Man alpha 1----6(+/- GlcNAc beta 1----4)(Man alpha 1----3) Man beta beta 1----4GlcNAc beta 1----4(+/- Fuc alpha 1----6)GlcNAc as their cores and the poly-N-acetyllactosamine composed of about 16 N-acetyllactosaminyl units as their outer chains. These structural features of the sugar moiety of glucose transporter are quite different from those of two major intrinsic glycoproteins of human erythrocytes, glycophorin A and band 3.     

Characterization and identification of the glucose transporter of human erythrocytes

The glucose transporter was purified from human erythrocytes (Kasahara, M. and Hinkle, P.C. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 7384–7390). The following results support the conclusion that a major protein in the purified transporter fraction, zone 4.5 is the glucose transporter (or a part of the transporter) and is different from band 3: (1) peptide maps of zone 4.5 were similar throughout the broad band in sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis and were different from those of band 3, (2) specific binding of cytochalasin B was found to the transporter fraction, but not to a band 3 fraction, (3) the N-terminal amino acid analysis of the transporter fraction showed a single N-terminal of lysine, whereas the band 3 fraction showed no clear N-terminal, and (4) the rabbit antibody raised against the transporter fraction formed a precipitation line with the transporter fraction, but not with the band 3 fraction. A filtration apparatus was devised for quick and accurate measurement of cytochalasin B binding, with which results comparable to those from equilibrium dialysis were obtained.     

A single half-turnover of the glucose carrier of the human erythrocyte

Single half-turnovers of the glucose carrier of the human erythrocyte have been measured by recruiting carriers to the outward-facing conformation by (a) pre-exposing cells to extracellular maltose, or (b) pre-warming cells to 38 degrees C, before addition of D-[14C]glucose at 0 degrees C. Based on these experiments estimates of the number of glucose carriers per red cell range from 124,000 to 190,000.     

Evidence that forskolin binds to the glucose transporter of human erythrocytes

Binding of [4-3H]cytochalasin B and [12-3H]forskolin to human erythrocyte membranes was measured by a centrifugation method. Glucose-displaceable binding of cytochalasin B was saturable, with KD = 0.11 microM, and maximum binding approximately 550 pmol/mg of protein. Forskolin inhibited the glucose-displaceable binding of cytochalasin B in an apparently competitive manner, with K1 = 3 microM. Glucose-displaceable binding of [12-3H]forskolin was also saturable, with KD = 2.6 microM and maximum binding approximately equal to 400 pmol/mg of protein. The following compounds inhibited binding of [12-3H]forskolin and [4-3H]cytochalasin B equivalently, with relative potencies parallel to their reported affinities for the glucose transport system: cytochalasins A and D, dihydrocytochalasin B, L-rhamnose, L-glucose, D-galactose, D-mannose, D-glucose, 2-deoxy-D-glucose, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, phloretin, and phlorizin. A water-soluble derivative of forskolin, 7-hemisuccinyl-7-desacetylforskolin, displaced equivalent amounts of [4-3H]cytochalasin B or [12-3H]forskolin. Rabbit erythrocyte membranes, which are deficient in glucose transporter, did not bind either [4-3H]cytochalasin B or [12-3H]forskolin in a glucose-displaceable manner. These results indicate that forskolin, in concentrations routinely employed for stimulation of adenylate cyclase, binds to the glucose transporter. Endogenous ligands with similar specificities could be important modulators of cellular metabolism.     

Stoichiometry of a half-turnover of band 3, the chloride transport protein of human erythrocytes

The kinetics of human red blood cell Cl transport have been studied under nonequilibrium conditions to determine whether or not an outward Cl gradient can recruit the transport protein from an inward-facing to an outward-facing configuration. Three kinds of evidence are consistent with this outward recruitment. First, the initial net Cl efflux into a Cl-free phosphate medium is independent of the intracellular Cl concentration in the range 20-170 mM. Second, an outward Cl gradient strongly enhances the inhibitory potency of DNDS (4,4'-dinitro-2,2'-stilbene disulfonate), which suggests that DNDS binds primarily to outward-facing states. Finally, we have estimated the number of Cl ions transported during the putative outward recruitment. Resealed red cell ghosts containing only 70 muM 36Cl were resuspended at 0 degrees C in a Cl-free, HCO3-free Na2SO4 medium. In the first 10 s, or approximately 10(6) Cl ions per ghost, followed by a much slower further loss of Cl. The rapid loss of 10(6) Cl ions per ghost, which is abolished by pretreatment with DIDS (4,4'-diisothiocyano-2,2'-stilbene disulfonate), appears to represent the Cl that is transported during the first half-turnover of the transport cycle. These data are strong evidence that the influx and efflux events in the catalytic cycle for anion transport do not take place simultaneously, and that the stoichiometry of the transport cycle is close to one pair of anions exchanged per band 3 monomer.     

The monosaccharide transporter from human erythrocytes is heterogeneously glycosylated.

Labeling of intact erythrocytes with galactose $\text{oxidase}\text{NaB[}{}^3\text{H]}{}_4$ resulted in the incorporation of radioactivity into the monosaccharide transporter. When the purified labeled protein was subjected to SDS gel electrophoresis, the peak of radioactivity migrated more slowly than the peak of Coomassie Blue-staining material. Endo-β-galactosidase treatment of the purified labeled transporter led to partial loss of the label, sharpening of the stain profile, and a change in the apparent molecular mass of the polypeptide from 55,000 to 46,000 daltons. Approximately 50% of the transporter bound to a column of Ricinus communis agglutinin I-agarose. These findings demonstrate that the transporter is heterogeneously glycosylated and, in conjunction with other data, show that it is a transmembrane protein and probably a source of erythroglycan.     

Transport function and subcellular distribution of purified human erythrocyte glucose transporter reconstituted into rat adipocytes.

In order to delineate the insulin-independent (constitutive) and insulin-dependent regulations of the plasma membrane glucose transporter concentrations in rat adipocytes, we introduced purified human erythrocyte GLUT-1 (HEGT) into rat adipocytes by poly(ethylene glycol)-induced vesicle-cell fusion and its transport function and subcellular distribution in the host cell were measured. HEGT in adipocytes catalysed 3-O-methylglucose equilibrium exchange with a turnover number that is indistinguishable from that of the basal adipocyte transporters. However, insulin did not stimulate significantly the HEGT function in adipocytes where it stimulated the native transporter function by 7-8-fold. The steady state distribution and the transmembrane orientation assays revealed that more than 85% of the HEGT that were inserted in the physiological, cytoplasmic side-in orientation at the adipocytes plasma membrane were moved into low-density microsomes (LDM), while 90% of the HEGT that were inserted in the wrong, cytoplasmic side-out orientation were retained in the plasma membrane. Furthermore, more than 70% of the LDM-associated HEGT were found in a small subset of LDM that also contained 80% of the LDM-associated GLUT-4, the insulin-regulatable, native adipocyte glucose transporter. However, insulin did not cause redistribution of HEGT from LDM to the plasma membrane under the condition where it recruited GLUT-4 from LDM to increase the plasma membrane GLUT-4 content 4-5-fold. These results demonstrate that the erythrocyte GLUT-1 introduced in adipocytes transports glucose with an intrinsic activity similar to that of the adipocyte GLUT-1 and/or GLUT-4, and enters the constitutive GLUT-4 translocation pathway of the host cell provided it is in physiological transmembrane orientation, but fails to enter the insulin-dependent GLUT-4 recruitment pathway. We suggested that the adipocyte plasma membrane glucose transporter concentration is constitutively kept low by a mechanism where a cell-specific constituent interacts with a cytoplasmic domain common to GLUT-1 and GLUT-4, while the insulin-dependent recruitment requires a cytoplasmic domain specific to GLUT-4.     

Exofacial regions of the glucose transporter of human erythrocytes: detection with polyclonal antibodies

The glucose transporter of human erythrocytes is a glycoprotein of 492 amino acids with a Mr of 55,000. From hydrophobicity plots based on the transporter's amino acid sequence, it has been proposed that exofacially, there are only a segment of 34 residues and the glycosylating carbohydrate branch. To detect changes in the number of glucose transporters during metabolic regulation in intact cells, one should obtain antibodies directed to exofacial sites of the transporter. Antibodies to the purified glucose transporter (Band 4.5), intact or deglycosylated with endoglycosidase F, were raised in rabbits. These antibodies, when purified by column chromatography on protein A-Sepharose and by adsorption onto erythrocyte membranes, cross-reacted with the glycosylated glucose transporter on Western blots. The reactivity of the polyclonal antibodies with intact cells was tested by incubating these cells with the antibody, followed by a centrifugation and a subsequent reaction with 125I-labelled goat-antirabbit immunoglobulin G. Intact human erythrocytes reacted positively with the anti-Band 4.5 antibodies but not with nonimmune sera. Reaction with human erythrocytes was about 10 times greater than with pig erythrocytes, which lack glucose transporters. The reaction with intact cells was not due to contamination with broken cells since under the conditions used, broken (freeze-thawed) cells or membranes did not sediment. Reaction with human erythrocyte membranes was more than fivefold higher than with pig erythrocyte membranes. Rat L6 muscle cells reacted with anti-Band 4.5 antibodies; there were about 10 times more binding sites in any one cell in L6 cells than in human erythrocytes, roughly paralleling their relative content of glucose transporters.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The inhibitory effects of flavonoids and antiestrogens on the Glut1 glucose transporter in human erythrocytes

Flavonoids and isoflavonoids are potent inhibitors of glucose efflux in human erythrocytes. Net changes of sugars inside the cells were measured by right angle light scattering. The inhibitory potency of hydroxylated flavonoids depends on the pH of the medium. The apparent affinity is maximal at low pH where the molecule is in the undissociated form. The following K(i)-values at pH 6.5 in microM have been obtained: phloretin 0.37+/-0.03, myricetin 0.76+/-0.42, quercetin 0.93+/-0.28, kaempferol 1.33+/-0.17, isoliquiritigenin 1.96, genistein 3.92+/-0.62, naringenin 8.88+/-1.88, 7-hydroxyflavone 17.58+/-3.15 and daidzein 18.62+/-2.85. Flavonoids carrying hydroxyl groups are weak acids and are deprotonated at high pH-values. From spectral changes pK-values between 6.80 (naringenin) and 7.73 (myricetin) have been calculated. No such pK-value could be obtained from quercetin which was rather unstable at alkaline pH. Flavone itself without a hydroxyl group does not demonstrate any absorbance changes at different pH-values and no significant change in inhibition of glucose transport with pH (K(i)-value around 35 microM). In this respect it is similar to the antiestrogens diethylstilbestrol, tamoxifen and cyclofenil with K(i)-values for glucose efflux inhibition of 2.61+/-0.30, 6.75+/-2.03 and 3.97+/-0.54 microM. Except for phloretin, the flavonoids investigated have planar structures. The inhibitory activity in glucose efflux of planar flavonoids increases exponentially with the number of hydroxyl groups in the molecule.     

Transport function and subcellular distribution of purified human erythrocyte glucose transporter reconstituted into rat adipocytes

In order to delineate the insulin-independent (constitutive) and inssulin-dependent regulations of the plasma membrane glucose transporter concentrations in rat adipocytes, we introduced purified human erythrocyte GLUT-1 (HEGT) into rat adipocytes by poly(ethylene glycol)-induced vesicle-cell fusion and its transport function and subcellular distribution in the host cell were measured. HEGT in adipocytes catalysed 3-O-methylglucose equilibrium exchange with a turnover number that is indistinguishable from that of the basal adipocyte transporters. However, insulin did not stimulate significantly the HEGT function in adipocytes where it stimulated the native transporter function by 7-8-fold. The steady state distribution and the transmembrane orientation assays revealed that more than 85% of the HEGT that were inserted in the physiological, cytoplasmic side-in orientation at the adipocytes plasma membrane were moved into low-density microsomes (LDM), while 90% of the HEGT that were inserted in the wrong, cytoplasmic side-out orientation were retained in the plasma membrane. Furthermore, more than 70% of the LDM-associated HEGT were found in a small subset of LDM that also contained 80% of the LDM-associated GLUT-4, the insulin-regulatable, native adipocyte glucose transporter. However, insulin did not cause redistribution of HEGT from LDM to the plasma membrane under the condition where it recruited GLUT-4 from LDM to increase the plasma membrane GLUT-4 content 4–5-fold. These results demonstrate that the erythrocyte GLUT-1 introduced in adipocytes transports glucose with an intrinsic activity similar to that of the adipocyte GLUT-1 and/or GLUT-4, and enters the constitutive GLUT-4 translocation pathway of the host cell provided it is in physiological transmembrane orientation, but fails to enter the insulin-dependent GLUT-4 recruitment pathway. We suggested that the adipocyte plasma membrane glucose transporter concentration is constitutively kept low by a mechanism where a cell-specific constitutent interacts with a cytoplasmic domain common to GLUT-1 and GLUT-4, while the insulin-dependent recruitment requires a cytoplasmic domain specific to GLUT-4.     

Partial puridication of a membrane protein from human erythrocytes involved in glucose transport.

In an attempt to determine which membrane proteins are essential to the stereospecific uptake of D-glucose, isolated human erythrocyte membranes were exposed to a variety of reagents capable of selectively extracting various membrane proteins. These reagents included EDTA, lithium 3,5-diiodosalicylate, sodium iodide, and 2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride. Selective elution of spectrin and Components 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.1, 4.2, 5, and 6 representing 65% of the ghost protein has no effect on the uptake of D-glucose. All of the sugar transport proteins are associated with a membrane residue consisting of the proteins of Bands 3, 4.5, and 7, the periodic acid-Schiff-sensitive glycoproteins, and ghost phospholipids. Specific cross-linking of the proteins of Band 3 of ghosts by the catalyzed oxidation of intrinsic sulfhydryl groups with the o-phenanthroline-cupric ion complex inhibits D-glucose uptake and alters the relative electrophoretic mobility of Band 3 proteins in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide-agarose gels. This uptake activity and the relative mobility of Band 3 proteins are recovered upon reversal of the cross-linking reaction by reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol. These results and other observations indicate that the D-glucose transport protein is an intrinsic component of the hydrophobic structure of the erythrocyte membrane and may be associated with the proteins of Band 3 which are glycoproteins spanning the membrane bilayer. It is proposed that D-glucose transport occurs through a water-filled channel formed by specific subunit aggregates of the transport proteins in the erythrocyte membrane rather than by rotation of the protein within the plane of the membrane.     

Effect of temperature on kinetics and differential mobility of empty and loaded nucleoside transporter of human erythrocytes

The transmembrane equilibration of [3H]uridine was measured in human erythrocytes as a function of temperature using rapid kinetic techniques. Arrhenius plots of the maximum velocity of equilibrium exchange were continuous between 5 and 30 degrees C (Ea = 17-20 kcal/mol), but the increase in velocity with increase in temperature leveled off above 30 degrees C. This leveling off did not reflect heat inactivation of the carrier since transport activity was stable for 3 h at 37 degrees C. Transmembrane equilibration of uridine in equilibrium exchange and zero-trans modes at 5, 15, 25, and 35 degrees C conformed to appropriate integrated rate equations derived for the simple transporter. The nucleoside transporter exhibited directional symmetry, but the loaded carrier moved on the average 5 times more rapidly than the empty carrier at 15, 25, and 35 degrees C, but 25-40 times faster at 5 degrees C. This marked shift in differential mobility of loaded and empty carrier between 15 and 5 degrees C was entirely attributable to an impairment of mobility of empty carrier. The Michaelis-Menten constant for equilibrium exchange increased about 3-fold with increase in temperature between 5 and 35 degrees C. The van't Hoff plot of the values was approximately linear and yielded an estimate of the enthalpy of carrier:substrate dissociation of 7.8 kcal/mol.