Diabetes and inflammation: fundamental aspects and clinical implications.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this paper is to provide the fundamental background of the inflammation theory associated with type 2 diabetes, to discuss the clinical consequences of low-grade inflammation, particularly in terms of cardiovascular risk, and to infer some clinical therapeutic strategies deriving from drugs that already exist or are in development.


METHODS
This non-exhaustive work is the result of a Pubmed(®) research, based on requests including the following keywords: diabetes, inflammation, innate immunity, obesity, reticulum endoplasmic stress, cytokines, endothelial dysfunction.


RESULTS
Obesity and type 2 diabetes are linked with a low-grade inflammation state that reflects the activation of innate immunity where metabolic, environmental and genetic factors are implicated. The role of endoplasmic reticulum stress and unfold protein response is underlined. Inflammation markers are predictive for the risk to develop diabetes, and are associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. While lifestyle modifications are followed by an improvement in inflammation markers, treatments inferred from the inflammation theory are of great interest, although quite moderate effects on glycaemic control have been observed with some of them.


CONCLUSIONS
The development of molecules targeting different inflammatory mechanisms could lead in diabetic patients to improvement of both glycaemia and cardiovascular prognosis.
Garcia
C
C
Service d'endocrinologie-diabétologie, hôpital d'instruction des armées Bégin, 69, avenue de Paris, 94160 St.-Mandé, France. garcia.cyril@free.fr
Feve
B
B
Ferré
P
P
Halimi
S
S
Baizri
H
H
Bordier
L
L
Guiu
G
G
Dupuy
O
O
Bauduceau
B
B
Mayaudon
H
H
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007249:Inflammation; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008019:Life Style; D009765:Obesity; D058767:Protein Unfolding; D012307:Risk Factors; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors
D015415:Biomarkers; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors