Increased glucose uptake capacity of Rous-transformed cells and the relevance of deprivation derepression.

The increased rate of glucose uptake found in cells transformed by Rous sarcoma virus was shown to be enhanced relative to the changes in uptake induced in nontransformed cells by deprivation of glucose (deprivation derepression). Glucose-specific uptake sites were distinguished from glucose-galactose sites in nontransformed cells, and the capacities for glucose uptake and for galactose uptake were increased to about the same extent by the exclusion of glucose from the cell culture medium. Deprivation derepression occurred without a requirement for new RNA or protein synthesis, suggesting that preexisting inactivate uptake sites were activated. Deprivation derepression could be mimicked by the treatment of cells with adenosine triphosphatase activators, and adenosine triphosphate levels were reduced in glucose-deprived cells and in cells treated with adenosine triphosphatase activators. Cells transformed by the Bryan strain of Rous sarcoma virus were unresponsive to addition of high concentrations of glucose, to glucose starvation, or to treatment with adenosine triphosphatase activators, and the relative capacity for glucose uptake in these transformed cells was enhanced much more than the capacity of galactose uptake. It was concluded that cells infected by the Bryan strain of rous sarcoma virus in the process of transformation selectively synthesize more sites specific for glucose uptake. Lower levels of adenosine triphosphate found in transformed cells possibly contribute to a chronic derepression of uptake sites.