Welcome to… The Rathmell Lab At Duke University Medical School

	Growth Factors, Glucose, and Cell Death…

Growth Factors regulate glucose uptake by controlling the glucose transporter, Glut1. A negative image of Glut1 immunofluoresence is shown above. Glut1 is on the cell surface of normal cells in growth factor (shown in black) and gets internalized when cells are deprived growth factor (see internal black staining in cell in lower left). If cells express oncogenes, such as oncogenic Akt, they can retain surface Glut1 and glucose uptake even when removed from growth factor. This allows cells to maintain nutrient uptake and is necessary in both in normal immune responses and in the development of cancer to allow cell survival.

Using this model system (and others related to it), we study how glucose uptake is regulated and how it impacts cell death pathways in cancer and in the immune system.

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©2007

Made by Peter Rathmell

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