Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: Nav1.5 , Slo1

Title: GLUT8 is dispensable for embryonic development but influences hippocampal neurogenesis and heart function.

Authors: Mathieu Membrez, Edith Hummler, Friedrich Beermann, Jacques-Antoine Haefliger, Rebecca Savioz, Thierry Pedrazzini, Bernard Thorens

Journal, date & volume: Mol. Cell. Biol., 2006 Jun , 26, 4268-76

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16705176

Abstract
GLUT8 is a glucose transporter isoform expressed at high levels in testis; at intermediate levels in the brain, including the hippocampus; and at lower levels in the heart and several other tissues. GLUT8 is located in an intracellular compartment and does not appear to translocate to the cell surface, except in blastocysts, where insulin has been reported to induce its surface expression. Here, we generated mice with inactivation of the glut8 gene. We showed that expression of GLUT8 was not required for normal embryonic development and that glut8-/- mice had normal postnatal development, glucose homeostasis, and response to mild stress. Adult glut8-/- mice showed increased proliferation of hippocampal cells but no defect in memory acquisition and retention. Absence of GLUT8 from the heart did not alter heart size and morphology but led to an increase in P-wave duration, which was not associated with abnormal Nav1.5 Na+ channel or connexin expression. Thus, absence of GLUT8 expression in the mouse caused complex but mild physiological alterations.