Diabetes mellitus: channeling care through cellular discovery.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) impacts a significant portion of the world's population and care for this disorder places an economic burden on the gross domestic product for any particular country. Furthermore, both Type 1 and Type 2 DM are becoming increasingly prevalent and there is increased incidence of impaired glucose tolerance in the young. The complications of DM are protean and can involve multiple systems throughout the body that are susceptible to the detrimental effects of oxidative stress and apoptotic cell injury. For these reasons, innovative strategies are necessary for the implementation of new treatments for DM that are generated through the further understanding of cellular pathways that govern the pathological consequences of DM. In particular, both the precursor for the coenzyme beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)), nicotinamide, and the growth factor erythropoietin offer novel platforms for drug discovery that involve cellular metabolic homeostasis and inflammatory cell control. Interestingly, these agents and their tightly associated pathways that consist of cell cycle regulation, protein kinase B, forkhead transcription factors, and Wnt signaling also function in a broader sense as biomarkers for disease onset and progression.
Division of Cellular and Molecular Cerebral Ischemia, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA. kmaiese@med.wayne.edu
Kenneth
K
Maiese
Yan Chen
YC
Shang
Zhao Zhong
ZZ
Chong
Jinling
J
Hou
D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000378:metabolism; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009536:Niacinamide / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin; D009536:Niacinamide; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt