Zinc stimulates glucose oxidation and glycemic control by modulating the insulin signaling pathway in human and mouse skeletal muscle cell lines

A comprehensive review on zinc(II) complexes as anti-diabetic agents: The advances, scientific gaps and prospects

Zinc has gained notable attention in the development of potent anti-diabetic agents, due to its role in insulin storage and secretion, as well as its reported insulin mimetic properties. Consequently, zinc(II) has been complexed with numerous organic ligands as an adjuvant to develop anti-diabetic agents with improved and/or broader scope of pharmacological properties. This review focuses on the research advances thus far to identify the major scientific gaps and prospects. Peer-reviewed published data on the anti-diabetic effects of zinc(II) complexes were sourced from different scientific search engines, including, but not limited to "PubMed", "Google Scholar", "Scopus" and ScienceDirect to identify potent anti-diabetic zinc(II) complexes. The complexes were subcategorized according to their precursor ligands. A critical analysis of the outcomes from published studies shows promising leads, with Zn(II) complexes having a "tri-facet" mode of exerting pharmacological effects. However, the promising leads have been flawed by some major scientific gaps. While zinc(II) complexes of synthetic ligands with little or no anti-diabetic pharmacological history remain the most studied (about 72 %), their toxicity profile was not reported, which raises safety concerns for clinical relevance. The zinc(II) complexes of plant polyphenols; natural ligands, such as maltol and hinokitiol; and supplements, such as ascorbic acid (a natural antioxidant), l-threonine and l-carnitine, showed promising insulin mimetic and glycemic control properties but remain understudied and lack clinical validation, in spite of their minimal safety concerns and health benefits. A paradigm shift toward probing (including clinical studies) supplements, plant polyphenol and natural ligands as anti-diabetic zinc(II) complex is, therefore, recommended. Also, promising anti-diabetic Zn(II) complexes of synthetic ligands should undergo critical toxicity evaluation to address possible safety concerns.

Unwinding Complexities of Diabetic Alzheimer by Potent Novel Molecules

Diabetes mellitus is one of the aggressive disorders in global society. No pharmacotherapy is available for permanent diabetes cure, although management is possible with drugs and physical activities. One of the recent complications noticed in type 2 diabetes mellitus includes diabetes-induced Alzheimer. It has been proposed that the possible diabetes-induced Alzheimer could be of type 3 diabetes. A variety of cross-sectional studies have proved that type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the factors responsible for the pathophysiology of Alzheimer. New drug molecules developed by pharmaceutical companies with adequate neuroprotective effect have demonstrated their efficacy in treatment of Alzheimer in various preclinical diabetic studies. Patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus may show the benefit with existing drugs but may not cause complete cure. Extensive studies are being carried out to find new drug molecules that show their potential as antidiabetic drug and could treat type 2 diabetes-induced Alzheimer as well. This review provides an overview about the recent advancement in pharmacotherapy of diabetes-induced Alzheimer. The pathomechanistic links between diabetes and Alzheimer as well as neurochemical changes in diabetes-induced Alzheimer are also briefed.

The Zinc Transporter Zip7 Is Downregulated in Skeletal Muscle of Insulin-Resistant Cells and in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet

Background: The zinc transporter Zip7 modulates zinc flux and controls cell signaling molecules associated with glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle. The present study evaluated the role of Zip7 in cell signaling pathways involved in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle and mice fed a high-fat diet. Methods: Insulin-resistant skeletal muscle cells were prepared by treatment with an inhibitor of the insulin receptor, HNMPA-(AM)3 or palmitate, and Zip7 was analyzed along with pAkt, pTyrosine and Glut4. Similarly, mice fed normal chow (NC) or a high-fat diet (HFD) were also analyzed for protein expression of Glut4 and Zip7. An overexpression system for Zip7 was utilized to determine the action of this zinc transporter on several genes implicated in insulin signaling and glucose control. Results: We identified that Zip7 is upregulated by glucose in normal skeletal muscle cells and downregulated in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle. We also observed (as expected) a decrease in pAkt and Glut4 in the insulin-resistant skeletal muscle cells. The overexpression of Zip7 in skeletal muscle cells led to the modulation of key genes involved in the insulin signaling axis and glucose metabolism including Akt3, Dok2, Fos, Hras, Kras, Nos2, Pck2, and Pparg. In an in vivo mouse model, we identified a reduction in Glut4 and Zip7 in the skeletal muscle of mice fed a HFD compared to NC controls. Conclusions: These data suggest that Zip7 plays a role in skeletal muscle insulin signaling and is downregulated in an insulin-resistant, and HFD state. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of Zip7 action will provide novel opportunities to target this transporter therapeutically for the treatment of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Targeting the Zinc Transporter ZIP7 in the Treatment of Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a disease associated with dysfunctional metabolic processes that lead to abnormally high levels of blood glucose. Preceding the development of T2DM is insulin resistance (IR), a disorder associated with suppressed or delayed responses to insulin. The effects of this response are predominately mediated through aberrant cell signalling processes and compromised glucose uptake into peripheral tissue including adipose, liver and skeletal muscle. Moreover, a major factor considered to be the cause of IR is endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. This subcellular organelle plays a pivotal role in protein folding and processes that increase ER stress, leads to maladaptive responses that result in cell death. Recently, zinc and the proteins that transport this metal ion have been implicated in the ER stress response. Specifically, the ER-specific zinc transporter ZIP7, coined the "gate-keeper" of zinc release from the ER into the cytosol, was shown to be essential for maintaining ER homeostasis in intestinal epithelium and myeloid leukaemia cells. Moreover, ZIP7 controls essential cell signalling pathways similar to insulin and activates glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. Accordingly, ZIP7 may be essential for the control of ER localized zinc and mechanisms that disrupt this process may lead to ER-stress and contribute to IR. Accordingly, understanding the mechanisms of ZIP7 action in the context of IR may provide opportunities to develop novel therapeutic options to target this transporter in the treatment of IR and subsequent T2DM.

Zinc and its regulators in pancreas

Studies have demonstrated that susceptibility to type 2 diabetes (T2D) is influenced by common polymorphism in the zinc transporter 8 gene SLC30A8, providing novel insight into the role of zinc in diabetes. Intriguingly, zinc participates in every step of the process, including insulin synthesis, crystallization, storage, secretion and signaling. Zinc deficiency or overload is associated with various disorders, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Zinc supplementation is considered as an effective means of treating or preventing T2D in people with certain SLC30A8 genotypes. Three important protein families-zinc transporters (ZnTs), zinc importers (ZiPs) and metallothionein (MT)-participate in maintaining zinc homeostasis. Here, we review research on the physiological characteristics of zinc and its role in the pancreas and homeostasis regulation mechanisms, along with the latest research on the structure and function of ZnT/ZiP and MT. In addition, we summarize the advancements in research on SLC30A8 gene polymorphism in search of a mechanism to explain the relationship between the R risk allele and zinc transporter activity.