Glucose reabsorption in the renal tubules normally ensures that all 180g of glucose filtered by the kidneys each day is reabsorbed back into circulation. This occurs via a two-step process - sodium-glucose cotransporters in the tubule's apical membrane use active transport to bring glucose into tubule cells, followed by facilitated diffusion and active sodium extrusion to return glucose to the bloodstream. Two sodium-coupled carriers have been identified for this process, one with high capacity but low affinity and one with low capacity but high affinity.