2023, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (5): 745-750

The relationship between glucose transporter 1/4 gene polymorphisms and athletic ability

Zhou Yinan1, Yang Kun2, Jiang Jiayi3, Zhang Sizhuo4, Zhu Yingwen5   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Scientific selection of athletes through genetic factors has become an important research hotspot in the field of competitive sports. Glucose transporter (GLUT) is an important carrier of glucose transmembrane transport. Recent studies have shown that GLUT1/4, which are the members of the GLUT family, have certain correlations between their gene polymorphisms and athletic abilities such as aerobic endurance and exercise sensitivity.
OBJECTIVE: To review the association between GLUT1/4 gene polymorphisms and athletic ability and its mechanism and to provide evidence for the scientific selection of athletes.
METHODS: The first author conducted a computer search in CNKI, WanFang, PubMed and Embase databases in January 2022, using “glucose transporter, gene polymorphism, exercise capacity, aerobic endurance, strength, athlete” as the Chinese search terms and “glucose transport protein, GLUT, GLUT1, GLUT4, SLC2A4, SLC2A1, single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP, athletic, sport performance, athlete, aerobic, endurance, power” as the English search terms. According to the inclusion criteria, 58 articles were finally included.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The main involved mutation sites include rs841853 in the GLUT1 gene and rs5418 in the GLUT4 gene. The research on the correlation between the two and athletic ability focuses on two aspects: aerobic endurance quality and exercise sensitivity, and both have significant correlations. In terms of the association mechanism of aerobic endurance quality, GLUT1 rs841853 single nucleotide polymorphism may affect endurance quality by affecting glucose uptake and lung ventilation capacity; and GLUT4 rs5418 single nucleotide polymorphism may regulate DNA methylation and transcription factors in the promoter region to yield excellent endurance quality. The polymorphism of this locus is thereby associated with athletic ability. In terms of exercise sensitivity, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α may play a central role in triggering the association between rs841853 polymorphism and hypoxic training sensitivity. Whereas, rs5418 polymorphism may lead to differences in insulin resistance in patients with impaired glucose regulation with different alleles undergoing aerobic training through the IRS-1/PI3K/AKT pathway. Therefore, selection of athletes based on GLUT1 and 4 gene polymorphisms may be a feasible method.
Key words: glucose transporter, gene polymorphism, athletic ability, endurance, power, review