GLUT2

GLUT2 is a facilitative glucose transporter encoded by SLC2A2 and expressed in liver, intestine, kidney, pancreatic islet β cells, and the central nervous system^[1]. Mechanistically, GLUT2 supports glucose sensing and glucose homeostasis by enabling low-affinity, high-capacity bidirectional glucose flux across the plasma membrane^[1][2]. In β cells, GLUT2 is required for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, while in hepatocytes it regulates hepatic glucose uptake and glucose-sensitive gene control^[1][3]. In disease models, GLUT2 inactivation or variation links this transporter to Fanconi-Bickel syndrome, transient neonatal diabetes, fasting hyperglycaemia, type 2 diabetes transition, and altered metformin response^[1][4]. Compared with related isoforms, GLUT2 differs from GLUT4, which mainly mediates insulin- and contraction-stimulated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle, and from human islet GLUT1/GLUT3, which may perform major β-cell glucose uptake roles in humans^[5][6]. For experimental applications, streptozotocin enters cells through GLUT2, and renal GLUT2 loss in mouse models increased glucosuria and reversed hyperglycaemia, supporting GLUT2-focused diabetes model design^[7][8].