Title:Regulating the Beta Cell Mass as a Strategy for Type-2 Diabetes Treatment
Volume: 16
Issue: 5
Author(s): Imane Song, Christo Muller, Johan Louw and Luc Bouwens
Affiliation:
关键词:
β细胞,糖尿病,胰岛素,胰岛,胰腺,再生医学
摘要: The incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) increases dramatically worldwide and has created
an enormous health care burden. Obesity, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance are major risk factors for
the development of T2D, but the major factor leading to the disease is failure of the insulin-producing
beta cell mass to compensate for increasing insulin demands of the body. Progression of the disease
further diminishes the beta cell mass as a result of lipotoxicity and glucotoxicity for which beta cells
are particularly sensitive. Hence, treatment aiming to prevent beta cell loss or increase the number of
beta cells could inhibit diabetes progression or lead to restoration of normal metabolism. Whereas current
and new antidiabetic drugs are mainly targeting insulin secretion and action or glucose uptake, newer interventions
must be found that prevent beta cell loss or increase beta cell number. The targets for this are beta cell proliferation,
neogenesis and survival. This review examines major evidence from animal experiments suggesting that it is feasible to
regulate the beta cell mass by bioactive compounds like growth factors, cytokines, hormones, phytochemicals and small
molecules. Often the mode of action remains unclear due to inadequate methods to assess the effects of the compounds on
the beta cell dynamics. Furthermore, a major challenge is to identify compounds with sufficient specificity in order to
avoid unwanted effects on other cell types. Provided such safety issues can be solved, this may provide a curative approach
for diabetes treatment.