Glucose transporter

Receptor

Skeletal muscle

Signal transduction

Endocrinology

Insulin

Metabolism

Cell biology

Bioinformatics

Biology

Internal medicine

Carbohydrate metabolism

Glycolysis

Signalling pathways

Medicine

Intracellular

Stimulation

Glucose uptake

Nature Reviews Endocrinology

In this Review, Sylow and colleagues discuss the molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways that regulate glucose uptake from the blood into the muscle during exercise, and the roles of both known and candidate molecules in the process. Skeletal muscle extracts glucose from the blood to maintain demand for carbohydrates as an energy source during exercise. Such uptake involves complex molecular signalling processes that are distinct from those activated by insulin. Exercise-stimulated glucose uptake is preserved in insulin-resistant muscle, emphasizing exercise as a therapeutic cornerstone among patients with metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Exercise increases uptake of glucose by up to 50-fold through the simultaneous stimulation of three key steps: delivery, transport across the muscle membrane and intracellular flux through metabolic processes (glycolysis and glucose oxidation). The available data suggest that no single signal transduction pathway can fully account for the regulation of any ...

Exercise-stimulated glucose uptake — regulation and implications for glycaemic control