Document Type : Article
Authors
1 M. Sc. Student, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Shahrekord, Shahrekord, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Shahrekord, Shahrekord, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, University of Shahrekord, Shahrekord, Iran
Abstract
Glucose is one of the most important sources of energy in the body. Glucose transport into the cell is an example of important facilitated diffusion which carried out by carrier proteins called Glucose transporters (GLUTs). Among Glucose transporters Glut4 and Glut12 are only sensitive transporters to the insulin that the Glut4 gene has been deleted in birds. On the other hand, level of blood glucose in birds is about 200-500 mg/dl and higher than mammals. In this study, glucose tolerance was investigated in three two-month ancestral birds, ostriches, to evaluate glucose homeostasis in the absence of Glut4. Results showed that glucose level returned to its normal levels nearly after two hours, similar to human. Briefly, It can be concluded that lack of insulin sensitive glucose transporter GLUT4, has not a significant role in ostrich, because this bird promptly clear additional glucose from blood but still maintain it about 2.5-fold as mammals. Therefore, it seems that SLC2A4 is not the reason of high blood glucose levels in birds.
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