Effect of photobiomodulation therapy on the regulation of glucose uptake by lymphocytes in diabetes mellitus (Review)

For most cells, including lymphocytes, glucose is a primary energy source, and, therefore, it is vital to understand the regulatory mechanisms that control the work of glucose transporters. Lymphocytes are pivotal for mediation of immune and inflammatory responses. A feature of lymphocytes is increasing glucose utilization during activation of the immune function, which is strongly dependent on glucose uptake. Some studies show that elevated glucose concentration in diabetes mellitus affects lymphocytes’ glucose transporters expression, whichcorrelates with impaired immune functions and may become one of the predisposing factors of contracting infectious diseases. Recent studies have focused on glucose transporters as therapeutic targets for a variety of diseases, including diabetes mellitus. This review demonstrates the effect of photobiomodulationtherapy on glucose uptake by Na+-coupled glucose carrier SGLT1 and facilitated diffusion glucose carriers of the GLUT family (GLUT1, GLUT3, GLUT4) in normal and diabetic lymphocytes.