2-Deoxy--glucose is a

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...

which has the 2-

hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical formula and composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom. In organic chemistry, alcohols and carboxylic acids contain one or more hydroxy ...

group replaced by hydrogen, so that it cannot undergo further

glycolysis Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose () into pyruvic acid, pyruvate and, in most organisms, occurs in the liquid part of cells (the cytosol). The Thermodynamic free energy, free energy released in this process is used to form ...

. As such; it acts to competitively inhibit the production of

glucose-6-phosphate Glucose 6-phosphate (G6P, sometimes called the Robison ester) is a glucose sugar phosphorylated at the hydroxy group on carbon 6. This dianion is very common in cells as the majority of glucose entering a cell will become phosphorylated in this wa ...

from glucose at the

phosphoglucoisomerase Glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI), alternatively known as phosphoglucose isomerase/phosphoglucoisomerase (PGI) or phosphohexose isomerase (PHI), is an enzyme ( ) that in humans is encoded by the ''GPI'' gene on chromosome 19. This gene enc ...

level (step 2 of glycolysis). 2-Deoxyglucose labeled with

tritium Tritium () or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of ~12.33 years. The tritium nucleus (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of the ...

carbon-14 Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...

has been a popular ligand for laboratory research in animal models, where distribution is assessed by tissue-slicing followed by

autoradiograph An autoradiograph is an image on an X-ray film or nuclear emulsion produced by the pattern of decay emissions (e.g., beta particles or gamma rays) from a distribution of a radioactive substance. Alternatively, the autoradiograph is also availab ...

y, sometimes in tandem with either conventional or

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...

. 2-DG is up taken by the

glucose transporter Glucose transporters are a wide group of membrane proteins that facilitate the transport of glucose across the plasma membrane, a process known as facilitated diffusion. Because glucose is a vital source of energy for all life, these transporte ...

s of the cell. Therefore, cells with higher glucose uptake, for example tumor cells, have also a higher uptake of 2-DG. Since 2-DG hampers cell growth, its use as a

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

therapeutic has been suggested, and in fact, 2-DG is in clinical trials. It is not completely clear how 2-DG inhibits cell growth. The fact that glycolysis is inhibited by 2-DG, seems not to be sufficient to explain why 2-DG treated cells stop growing. A synergistic effect between 2-DG and various other agents have been reported in the pursuit of anticancer strategies. Because of its structural similarity to mannose, 2DG has the potential to inhibit N-glycosylation in mammalian cells and other systems, and as such induces ER stress and the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) pathway.

Use in optical imaging

2-DG has been used as a targeted optical imaging agent for fluorescent ''in vivo'' imaging. In clinical medical imaging (

PET scan Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in Metabolism, metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including bloo ...

ning),

fluorodeoxyglucose []Fluorodeoxyglucose (International Nonproprietary Name, INN), or fluorodeoxyglucose F 18 (United States Adopted Name, USAN and United States Pharmacopeia, USP), also commonly called fluorodeoxyglucose and abbreviated []FDG, 2-[]FDG o ...

is used, where one of the 2-hydrogens of 2-deoxy-D-glucose is replaced with the positron-emitting isotope fluorine-18, which emits paired gamma rays, allowing distribution of the tracer to be imaged by external gamma camera(s). This is increasingly done in tandem with a CT function which is part of the same PET/CT machine, to allow better localization of small-volume tissue glucose-uptake differences.

Indian adoption for COVID-19 treatment

On May 8, 2021, the

Drugs Controller General of India A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion ...

approved an oral formulation of 2-deoxy-D-glucose for emergency use as adjunct therapy in moderate to severe coronavirus patients.What is 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) and is it effective against Covid?
The Economic Times, 17 May 2021. The drug was developed by the

DRDO The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, headqu ...

along with

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. is an Indian multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical company based in Hyderabad. The company was founded by Kallam Anji Reddy, who previously worked in the mentor institute Indian Drugs and Pharmace ...

, who jointly claimed via a press release, that the drug "helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence".

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

as well as

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

noted that the approval was based on poor evidence; no journal publication (or

preprint In academic publishing, a preprint is a version of a scholarly or scientific paper that precedes formal peer review and publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly or scientific journal. The preprint may be available, often as a non-typeset versi ...

) concerning efficacy and safety are yet available.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deoxy-D-Glucose, 2- Deoxy sugars Aldohexoses

Use in optical imaging

Indian adoption for COVID-19 treatment

See also

References