One Molecule for Mental Nourishment and More: Glucose Transporter Type 1-Biology and Deficiency Syndrome.

Glucose transporter type 1 (Glut1) is the main transporter involved in the cellular uptake of glucose into many tissues, and is highly expressed in the brain and in erythrocytes. Glut1 deficiency syndrome is caused mainly by mutations of the SLC2A1 gene, impairing passive glucose transport across the blood-brain barrier. All age groups, from infants to adults, may be affected, with age-specific symptoms. In its classic form, the syndrome presents as an early-onset drug-resistant metabolic epileptic encephalopathy with a complex movement disorder and developmental delay. In later-onset forms, complex motor disorder predominates, with dystonia, ataxia, chorea or spasticity, often triggered by fasting. Diagnosis is confirmed by hypoglycorrhachia (below 45 mg/dL) with normal blood glucose, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, and genetic analysis showing pathogenic SLC2A1 variants. There are also ongoing positive studies on erythrocytes' Glut1 surface expression using flow cytometry. The standard treatment still consists of ketogenic therapies supplying ketones as alternative brain fuel. Anaplerotic substances may provide alternative energy sources. Understanding the complex interactions of Glut1 with other tissues, its signaling function for brain angiogenesis and gliosis, and the complex regulation of glucose transportation, including compensatory mechanisms in different tissues, will hopefully advance therapy. Ongoing research for future interventions is focusing on small molecules to restore Glut1, metabolic stimulation, and SLC2A1 transfer strategies. Newborn screening, early identification and treatment could minimize the neurodevelopmental disease consequences. Furthermore, understanding Glut1 relative deficiency or inhibition in inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders, and viral infections including COVID-19 and other settings could provide clues for future therapeutic approaches.

ANTIDIABETIC PROPERTY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN MALAYSIA

Medicinal plants, natural products, and phytochemicals are widely used globally as alternative medicines in the management and treatment of various diseases, including diabetes. Diabetes is a complex metabolic disorder caused by reduced insulin secretion, insulin resistance, or a combination of both. The fast-rising prevalence of diabetes indicated that the optimum control of the diabetic epidemic is still not achieved. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to a myriad of complications such as kidney problems, loss of vision, amputation, and death. Furthermore, diabetic patients are more predisposed to the infection of COVID-19 infection, thus making them more vulnerable during the current pandemic. Therefore, it is vital to provide effective treatment for diabetic patients to reduce the complications of diabetes. The potential of medicinal plants and their phytochemicals as antidiabetic agents have been reported by many previous researchers. Every part of the plants including the leaves, roots, fruits, seeds, and stems have been associated with significant outcomes in diabetes treatment. This review aimed to provide an update on the review of the roles and mechanisms of medicinal plants in the treatment of diabetes. A literature search was performed on different scientific search engines using the keywords “antidiabetic”, “medicinal plants”, “phytochemicals”, “mechanism of actions”, “extraction”, “glucose uptake”, and “insulin secretion”. The data obtained indicated that phytochemicals such as phenolics, flavonoids, glycosides, tannins, and alkaloids extracted from the leaves, fruits, seeds and stems exhibited antidiabetic properties. This review also suggested that phytochemicals from medicinal plants exhibited antidiabetic properties via various mechanisms in the treatment of diabetes. In short, these findings will provide important insights into the future development of antidiabetic drugs. © Penerbit UMT

18F-FDG-PET Imaging for Post-COVID-19 Brain and Skeletal Muscle Alterations.

Scientific evidence concerning the subacute and long-term effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is on the rise. It has been established that infection by serious acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a systemic process that involves multiple organs. The complications and long-term consequences of COVID-19 are diverse and patients need a multidisciplinary treatment approach in the acute and post-acute stages of the disease. A significant proportion of COVID-19 patients experience neurological manifestations, some enduring for several months post-recovery. However, brain and skeletal muscle changes resultant from SARS CoV-2 infection remain largely unknown. Here, we provide a brief overview of the current knowledge, and usefulness, of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) to investigate brain and skeletal muscles changes in Post-COVID-19 patients with persistent symptoms. Furthermore, a brief discussion of future 18F-FDG-PET/CT applications that might advance the current knowledge of the pathogenesis of post-COVID-19 is also provided.

Sesquiterpenes and polyphenols with glucose-uptake stimulatory and antioxidant activities from the medicinal mushroom Sanghuangporus sanghuang.

A chemical investigation on the fermentation products of Sanghuangporus sanghuang led to the isolation and identification of fourteen secondary metabolites (1-14) including eight sesquiterpenoids (1-8) and six polyphenols (9-14). Compounds 1-3 were sesquiterpenes with new structures which were elucidated based on NMR spectroscopy, high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. All the isolates were tested for their stimulation effects on glucose uptake in insulin-resistant HepG2 cells, and cellular antioxidant activity. Compounds 9-12 were subjected to molecular docking experiment to primarily evaluate their anti-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) activity. As a result, compounds 9-12 were found to increase the glucose uptake of insulin-resistant HepG2 cells by 18.1%, 62.7%, 33.7% and 21.4% at the dose of 50 µmol·L-1, respectively. Compounds 9-12 also showed good cellular antioxidant activities with CAA50 values of 12.23, 23.11, 5.31 and 16.04 µmol·L-1, respectively. Molecular docking between COVID-19 Mpro and compounds 9-12 indicated potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitory activity of these four compounds. This work provides new insights for the potential role of the medicinal mushroom S. sanghuang as drugs and functional foods.