Gli36 In Vitro Glucose Uptake Assay (Energy Metabolism) (CAT#: ITS-1022-YF3829)

Gli36

Human

GLI-36

Glioblastoma

Oncology

In Vitro Glucose Uptake Assay (Energy Metabolism)

Gli36-cell based In Vitro Glucose Uptake Assay (Energy Metabolism)

As cancer cells show increased glucose uptake and metabolism, agents that can block the glucose uptake in cancer cells have gained much attention as potential anticancer agents. For the measurement of glucose uptake, glucose analogs (glucose tracers) such as 3-O-methylglucose, 2-deoxy-D-glucose, fluorodeoxyglucose and 2-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)-2-deoxyglucose have commonly been used in glucose uptake assays. Radioactive hexoses have also been used as glucose analogs in some studies.

Energy Metabolism Detection Assays

Cells require energy to grow, replicate and maintain internal cellular environment. Cells acquire energy need through a series of metabolic reactions known as respiration. Energy is stored as ATP in cells and when cells require energy, ATP can be broken down to fulfil the energy needs of cells. Aerobic and anaerobic respirations are two main forms of cellular respiration. Aerobic respiration requires oxygen to break down glucose into pyruvate, ATP and carbon dioxide and in anaerobic respiration, cells break glucose into lactic acid instead of pyruvate. Production of ATP is higher in the aerobic respiration (38 ATPs) than in anaerobic respiration. Glycolysis is the first step in cellular respiration, which involves production of pyruvate from glucose molecules. Enhanced rate of glycolysis is one of the main observations in cancer cells compared to normal cells, which is known as the Warburg effect. The consumption of glucose is reported to be higher in cancer cells than in normal cells. It has been reported that cancer cells can secrete lactic acid rather than converting glucose molecules into carbon dioxide. When considering the rate of ATP production in cancer cells, it has been reported that cancer cells can produce ATP about hundred-fold faster than normal cells. High expression of glucose receptors on the cell surface and enzymes controlling glucose influx into cancer cells have been identified as the main reasons for increased uptake of glucose by cancer cells. Measuring metabolites and enzymes in energy metabolism of cancer has been pivotal in medical research and a wide range of manual assay procedures and kits are available to measure changes in energy metabolism in cancer cells.

Glucose Uptake Assay