GLUT4

SLC2A4
Identifiers
Aliases	SLC2A4, GLUT4, solute carrier family 2 member 4
External IDs	OMIM: 138190; MGI: 95758; HomoloGene: 74381; GeneCards: SLC2A4; OMA:SLC2A4 - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 17 (human)
End	7,288,257 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 11 (mouse)
End	69,839,014 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	gastrocnemius muscle; ; muscle of thigh; ; skeletal muscle tissue; ; apex of heart; ; left ventricle; ; right auricle of heart; ; muscle layer of sigmoid colon; ; gastric mucosa; ; urinary bladder; ; fundus;
	Top expressed in
	muscle of thigh; ; extensor digitorum longus muscle; ; digastric muscle; ; triceps brachii muscle; ; sternocleidomastoid muscle; ; temporal muscle; ; right ventricle; ; plantaris muscle; ; masseter muscle; ; tibialis anterior muscle;
	More reference expression data
	More reference expression data
Gene ontology
Molecular function	transmembrane transporter activity; transporter activity; protein binding; D-glucose transmembrane transporter activity; glucose transmembrane transporter activity;
Cellular component	cytoplasm; integral component of membrane; multivesicular body; vesicle; cytosol; endosome; membrane; intracellular membrane-bounded organelle; vesicle membrane; T-tubule; insulin-responsive compartment; plasma membrane; integral component of plasma membrane; cell surface; perinuclear region of cytoplasm; membrane raft; sarcolemma; clathrin-coated pit; trans-Golgi network transport vesicle; extracellular exosome; cytoplasmic vesicle membrane; external side of plasma membrane; endomembrane system; clathrin-coated vesicle; presynapse; sarcoplasmic reticulum;
Biological process	glucose homeostasis; cellular response to osmotic stress; brown fat cell differentiation; cellular response to insulin stimulus; amylopectin biosynthetic process; response to ethanol; cellular response to hypoxia; carbohydrate transport; transmembrane transport; glucose import in response to insulin stimulus; cellular response to tumor necrosis factor; glucose import; carbohydrate metabolic process; glucose transmembrane transport; regulation of synaptic vesicle budding from presynaptic endocytic zone membrane;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	6517
	20528
	ENSG00000181856; ENSG00000288174
	ENSMUSG00000018566
	P14672
	P14142
	NM_001042
	NM_009204; NM_001359114
	NP_001033
	NP_033230; NP_001346043
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

Glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4), also known as solute carrier family 2, facilitated glucose transporter member 4, is a protein encoded, in humans, by the SLC2A4 gene. GLUT4 is the insulin-regulated glucose transporter found primarily in adipose tissues and striated muscle (skeletal and cardiac). GLUT4 is distinctive because it is predominantly stored within intracellular vesicles, highlighting the importance of its trafficking and regulation as a central area of research. The first evidence for this glucose transport protein was provided by David James in 1988. The gene that encodes GLUT4 was cloned and mapped in 1989.

At the cell surface, GLUT4 permits the facilitated diffusion of circulating glucose down its concentration gradient into muscle and fat cells. Once within cells, glucose is rapidly phosphorylated by glucokinase in the liver and hexokinase in other tissues to form glucose-6-phosphate, which then enters glycolysis or is polymerized into glycogen. Glucose-6-phosphate cannot diffuse back out of cells, which also serves to maintain the concentration gradient for glucose to passively enter cells.