INCREASES IN MESSENGER-RNA LEVELS OF GLUCOSE TRANSPORTERS TYPE-1 AND TYPE-3 IN EHRLICH ASCITES TUMOR-CELLS DURING TUMOR-DEVELOPMENT

A common feature of many tumors is an increase in glucose catabolism d uring tumor growth. We studied the mechanism of this phenomenon by usi ng Ehrlich ascites tumor bearing mice as the animal model. We found th at Ehrlich ascites tumor ce Is possess only glucose transporter 1 (GLU T1) and GLUT3 but no GLUT2, GLUT4, or GLUT5. The mRNA levels of GLUT1 and GLUT3 increased progressively in the tumour during development; ho wever, there were no changes observable in mRNA levels of glucose tran sporters of all types in brain, liver, and heart of the host mice. The se findings suggest that Ehrlich ascites tumor augments its glucose tr ansport mechanism relative to other tissues in response to its unique growth needs. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.