Differentiation of the insulin-sensitive glucose transporter in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

3T3-L1 fibroblasts differentiate in culture to resemble adipocytes both morphologically and biochemically. Insulin-sensitive glucose transport, as measured by 2-deoxy-(1-/sup 14/C)- glucose uptake in the undifferentiated cell is small (2X). In contrast, the rate of glucose transport in fully differentiated cells is elevated 15-fold over basal in the presence of insulin. To determine if this is due…