GROWTH DEPENDENT 2-DEOXY-D-GLUCOSE UPTAKE IN TRANSFORMED AND NORMAL MOUSE CELLS

Abstract

The rates of uptake of 2-deoxyglucose were studied in a) 15-day BALB/c and AKR embryonic cells, b) adult BALB/c lung fibroblasts and c) virally-transformed cell lines derived from a clone of BALB/c cells. At high cell densities in confluent cultures of non-transformed cells the rates of uptake were three to seven times lower than those in transformed cells at the equivalent densities. Both non-transformed and virally-transformed cell cultures showed density-dependent inhibition of 2-deoxyglucose uptake. However, inhibition was only slight in SV40 (SVT2) and Kirsten sarcoma virus-transformed (K-A31) cells in which uptake rates decreased 2.3– and 2.5– fold respectively during a 12-fold increase in cell densities. For an almost similar increase in cell density, in unestablished adult embryonic BALB/c fibroblasts, the rate of uptake decreased 8-fold. Incorporation of H3-thymidine (an indication of growth rate) occurred at a higher rate in transformed than in contact-inhibited cells. Two hours after serum stimulation of contact-inhibited AKR cells there was approximately 50% increase in the rate of 2-deoxyglucose uptake. The results confirm previous findings that the increased uptake of 2-deoxyglucose by virally-transformed cells may be due to their growth and division and not necessarily to the direct expression of the viral genome.