title: Betatrophin in Diabetes Mellitus: the Epidemiological Evidence in Humans.
abstract: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide, and while numerous treatments exist, none of the current pharmacologic therapies is curative. Pharmacologic approaches that increase beta cell mass may present an avenue for actual cure. There have been numerous reports on factors that can induce beta cell proliferation in rodents, whereas there are still very limited data on the occurrence of beta cell proliferation in humans. The recent discovery of the hormone betatrophin, which in mice counteracted glucose intolerance induced by insulin resistance by potently stimulating beta cell proliferation, has boosted the hope for a new target for drug development for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in humans. With the encouraging preclinical findings as a background, this review presents the available clinical data on betatrophin and discusses its possible role in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, BMC, Husargatan 3, Box 571, Uppsala, SE-75123, Sweden. Daniel.Espes@mcb.uu.se.|Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. Daniel.Espes@mcb.uu.se.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Espes
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Care, Uppsala University, BMC, Husargatan 3, Box 564, Uppsala, 75122, Sweden. Mats.Martinell@pubcare.uu.se.
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinell
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, BMC, Husargatan 3, Box 571, Uppsala, SE-75123, Sweden. Hanna.Liljeback@mcb.uu.se.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liljebäck
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, BMC, Husargatan 3, Box 571, Uppsala, SE-75123, Sweden. per-ola.carlsson@mcb.uu.se.|Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. per-ola.carlsson@mcb.uu.se.
authors.forename: Per-Ola
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Carlsson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018149:Glucose Intolerance; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000097:blood* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D036361:Peptide Hormones
keywords: Beta cell proliferation; Betatrophin; Diabetes; Humans; Islet; Liver