Glucose-dependent adenosine triphosphate synthesis and GLUT transporter expression in RPMI8226 myeloma cells

Background. Glucose is one of the main sources of energy in cells. Glucose consumption by cancer cells is markedly higher compared to normal cells and increases with malignant progression. The initial step in glucose metabolism is its transport across the plasma membrane, which is mediated by the GLUT family of glucose transporters. Although patterns of GLUT gene expression in cancer have already been identified, studying the mechanisms of their activation represents a promising approach to differentially block glucose-regulated metabolism in cancer cells. In this work, we investigated the dependence of the efficiency of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis and the regulation of the expression of the genes of classical “glucose transporters” GLUT1–GLUT4 on the amount of glucose in the culture medium.

Aim. Study of glucose-dependent ATP synthesis and expression of glucose transporter genes: GLUT1, GLUT2, GLUT3, GLUT4, involved in glucose transport in human myeloma cells RPMI8226.

Materials and methods. The human myeloma cell line RPMI8226 was used in this work. Cell viability was assessed using a colorimetric method. The effect of glucose on ATP synthesis in cells was determined using the luminescent method. The expression of mRNA in cells was studied using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Results. The study found that ATP synthesis in RPMI8226 cells depends on glucose metabolism. Decreased viability of RPMI8226 cells strongly correlates with decreased levels of newly synthesized ATP. This cell line is characterized by relatively high initial expression of the GLUT1 gene and the GLUT3 gene, relatively moderate expression of the GLUT2 gene, and relatively weak expression of the GLUT4 gene. Studies on glucose deprivation revealed activation of the expression of all these glucose transporter genes, but the highest expression was characteristic of the GLUT2 gene and GLUT4 gene,

Conclusion. Based on the study, we conclude that for RPMI8226 myeloma cells, glucose is one of the important sources of energy metabolism. Expression of glucose transporter genes: GLUT1, GLUT2, GLUT3, GLUT4 depends on glucose concentration, but the initial level of expression does not predict the nature of its changes during glucose deprivation.

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