The mechanism by which cells increase their rate of glucose uptake in response to stress is unclear. Using an immunofluorescence technique to localize the glucose transporter protein in BHK cells, we found that hyperthermia, treatment with arsenite, infection with vesicular stomatitis virus or Semliki Forest virus, and treatment with insulin cause the transporter to move from an intracellular site in the perinuclear region to the plasma membrane; the degree of translocation correlates approximately with the increase in glucose uptake. We conclude that stress induces an insulin-like distribution of certain membrane proteins.— Widnell, C. C.; Baldwin, S. A.; Davies, A.; Martin, S.; Pasternak, C. A. Cellular stress induces a redistribution of the glucose transporter. FASEB J. 4: 1634-1637; 1990.