Inhibition of glucose transporter gene expression by antisense nucleic acids in HL-60 leukemia cells.

Glucose is the basic source of energy for mammalian cells. The energy-independent transport of glucose down its concentration gradient is mediated by the facilitative glucose transporter family (GLUT). It has long been recognised that glucose transporter genes are overexpressed in many human cancer cells, to help provide extra energy for the rapid growth of cancer cells. In the present study, antisense oligonucleotides and plasmid-derived antisense RNA against GLUT-1 gene were synthesized and transfected into human leukemia HL-60 cells to investigate the effect of these antisense nucleic acids on tumour growth. Our results show that antisense nucleic acids inhibited the proliferation of HL-60 cells by 50-60% and the mRNA expression of GLUT-1 gene was suppressed as detected by Northern hybridization.