Molecular Tools for Facilitative Carbohydrate Transporters (Gluts)

Facilitative carbohydrate transporters - Gluts - have received a wide attention over decades due to their essential role in the nutrient uptake and links with various metabolic disorders, including diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Endeavors into understanding mechanisms of Glut-mediated nutrient uptake have resulted in the multidisciplinary research field, branching protein chemistry, chemical biology, organic synthesis, crystallography, and biomolecular modeling. Gluts became attractive targets for cancer research and medicinal chemistry, leading to the development of new approaches to cancer diagnostics and providing avenues for cancer-targeting therapeutics. In this review, the current state of the knowledge of molecular interactions behind Glut-mediated sugar uptake, Glut-targeting probes, therapeutics, and inhibitors are discussed.