2016/03/11 by Pia V. Röder, Bingbing Wu, Yixian Liu +1 · 5 citations
Medicine · #Pancreatic function and diabetes #Diabetes Treatment and Management #Apelin-related biomedical research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/emm.2016.6
openalex publication_date 2016/03/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
In order to ensure normal body function, the human body is dependent on a tight control of its blood glucose levels. This is accomplished by a highly sophisticated network of various hormones and neuropeptides released mainly from the brain, pancreas, liver, intestine as well as adipose and muscle tissue. Within this network, the pancreas represents a key player by secreting the blood sugar-lowering hormone insulin and its opponent glucagon. However, disturbances in the interplay of the hormones and peptides involved may lead to metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) whose prevalence, comorbidities and medical costs take on a dramatic scale. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to uncover and understand the mechanisms underlying the various interactions to improve existing anti-diabetic therapies and drugs on the one hand and to develop new therapeutic approaches on the other. This review summarizes the interplay of the pancreas with various other organs and tissues that maintain glucose homeostasis. Furthermore, anti-diabetic drugs and their impact on signaling pathways underlying the network will be discussed. Recent advances in our understanding of how pancreatic cells respond to glucose raise the possibility of new treatments for type 2 diabetes. The pancreas plays a key role in the control of blood sugar levels through the release of the hormones glucagon and insulin, which oppose and balance one another. Weiping Han, Pia V. Röder and colleagues at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore have reviewed recent studies that reveal a highly complex interplay between the pancreas and other organs and tissues including the brain, liver, gut, and adipose and muscle tissue. These studies identify many of the external triggers and internal signaling events that follow glucose exposure. Targeting some of these newly identified molecules, enzymes and interactions that underlie insulin secretion is likely to yield new therapies for type 2 diabetes.