The metabolic effects of APOL1 in humans.

Harboring apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) variants coded by the G1 or G2 alleles of the APOL1 gene increases the risk for collapsing glomerulopathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, albuminuria, chronic kidney disease, and accelerated kidney function decline towards end-stage kidney disease. However, most subjects carrying APOL1 variants do not develop the kidney phenotype unless a second clinical condition adds to the genotype, indicating that modifying factors modulate the genotype-phenotype correlation. Subjects with an APOL1 high-risk genotype are more likely to develop essential hypertension or obesity, suggesting that carriers of APOL1 risk variants experience more pronounced insulin resistance compared to noncarriers. Likewise, arterionephrosclerosis (the pathological correlate of hypertension-associated nephropathy) and glomerulomegaly take place among carriers of APOL1 risk variants, and these pathological changes are also present in conditions associated with insulin resistance, such as essential hypertension, aging, and diabetes. Insulin resistance may contribute to the clinical features associated with the APOL1 high-risk genotype. Unlike carriers of wild-type APOL1, bearers of APOL1 variants show impaired formation of lipid droplets, which may contribute to inducing insulin resistance. Nascent lipid droplets normally detach from the endoplasmic reticulum into the cytoplasm, although the proteins that enable this process remain to be fully defined. Wild-type APOL1 is located in the lipid droplet, whereas mutated APOL1 remains sited at the endoplasmic reticulum, suggesting that normal APOL1 may participate in lipid droplet biogenesis. The defective formation of lipid droplets is associated with insulin resistance, which in turn may modulate the clinical phenotype present in carriers of APOL1 risk variants.

Insulin Resistance is Associated with Clinical Manifestations of Diabetic Kidney Disease (Glomerular Hyperfiltration, Albuminuria, and Kidney Function Decline).

Clinical features of diabetic kidney disease include glomerular hyperfiltration, albuminuria, and kidney function decline towards End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD). There are presently neither specific markers of kidney involvement in patients with diabetes nor strong predictors of rapid progression to ESKD. Serum-creatinine-based equations used to estimate glomerular filtration rate are notoriously unreliable in patients with diabetes. Early kidney function decline, reduced glomerular filtration rate, and proteinuria contribute to identifying diabetic patients at higher risk for rapid kidney function decline. Unlike proteinuria, the elevation of urinary albumin excretion in the range of microalbuminuria is frequently transient in patients with diabetes and does not always predict progression towards ESKD. Although the rate of progression of kidney function decline is usually accelerated in the presence of proteinuria, histological lesions of diabetes and ESKD may occur with normal urinary albumin excretion. No substantial reduction in the rate of ESKD associated with diabetes has been observed during the last decades despite intensified glycemic control and reno-protective strategies, indicating that existing therapies do not target underlying pathogenic mechanisms of kidney function decline. Very long-term effects of sodium-glucose transporters- 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs remain to be defined. In patients with diabetes, glucagon secretion is typically elevated and induces insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is consistently and strongly associated with clinical manifestations of diabetic kidney disease, suggesting that reduced insulin sensitivity participates in the pathogenesis of the disease and may represent a therapeutic objective. Amelioration of insulin sensitivity in patients with diabetes is associated with cardioprotective and kidney-protective effects.

Elastic tissue disruption is a major pathogenic factor to human vascular disease.

Elastic fibers are essential components of the arterial extracellular matrix. They consist of the protein elastin and an array of microfibrils that support the protein and connect it to the surrounding matrix. The elastin gene encodes tropoelastin, a protein that requires extensive cross-linking to become elastin. Tropoelastin is expressed throughout human life, but its expression levels decrease with age, suggesting that the potential to synthesize elastin persists during lifetime although declines with aging. The initial abnormality documented in human atherosclerosis is fragmentation and loss of the elastic network in the medial layer of the arterial wall, suggesting an imbalance between elastic fiber injury and restoration. Damaged elastic structures are not adequately repaired by synthesis of new elastic elements. Progressive collagen accumulation follows medial elastic fiber disruption and fibrous plaques are formed, but advanced atherosclerosis lesions do not develop in the absence of prior elastic injury. Aging is associated with arterial extracellular matrix anomalies that evoke those present in early atherosclerosis. The reduction of elastic fibers with subsequent collagen accumulation leads to arterial stiffening and intima-media thickening, which are independent predictors of incident hypertension in prospective community-based studies. Arterial stiffening precedes the development of hypertension. The fundamental role of the vascular elastic network to arterial structure and function is emphasized by congenital disorders caused by mutations that disrupt normal elastic fiber production. Molecular changes in the genes coding tropoelastin, lysyl oxidase (tropoelastin cross-linking), and elastin-associated microfibrils, including fibrillin-1, fibulin-4, and fibulin-5 produce severe vascular injury due to absence of functional elastin.

Dietary habits contribute to define the risk of type 2 diabetes in humans.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a frequent disorder largely preventable. The aim of this review was to summarize information on the association between dietary habits and the risk of developing T2D. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive literature search using the PubMed database from its inception to June, 2019. Articles were restricted to those written in English and concerning human subjects. Relevant manuscripts found in the list of references of the retrieved articles were also used in preparation for the review. RESULTS: Animal protein consumption increases the risk of T2D independently of body mass index. Intake of both unprocessed meat and processed meat is strongly and consistently associated with increased risk of developing T2D. In contrast, consumption of high-quality vegetable foods prevents the disease. High-quality plant foods include whole grains, nuts, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. Among less healthy plant-based foods are fruit juices, sweetened beverages, refined grains, potatoes, sweets, and desserts. Carbohydrate-restricted diets that encourage consumption of animal products promote T2D. Low intake of animal products is linked to high educational level so that well-informed individuals tend to consume diets with elevated content of vegetable food. According to the American Dietetic Association, "appropriately planned vegetarian diets including vegan diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases". CONCLUSIONS: restricting animal products while increasing healthy plant-based foods intake facilitates T2D prevention. To neutralize worldwide the burden of T2D and its devastating complications, animal products consumption should be limited or discontinued.

Subclinical vascular disease in patients with diabetes is associated with insulin resistance.

Patients with diabetes experience increased cardiovascular risk that is not fully explained by deficient glycemic control or traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and hypercholesterolemia. Asymptomatic patients with diabetes show structural and functional vascular damage that includes impaired vasodilation, arterial stiffness, increased intima-media thickness and calcification of the arterial wall. Subclinical vascular injury associated with diabetes predicts subsequent manifestations of cardiovascular disease, such as ischemic heart disease, peripheral artery disease and stroke. Noninvasive detection of subclinical vascular disease is commonly used to estimate cardiovascular risk associated to diabetes. Longitudinal studies in normotensive subjects show that arterial stiffness at baseline is associated with a greater risk for future hypertension independently of established risk factors. In patients with type 2 diabetes, vascular disease begins to develop during the latent phase of insulin resistance, long before the clinical diagnosis of diabetes. In contrast, patients with type 1 diabetes do not manifest vascular injury when they are first diagnosed due to insulin deficiency, as they lack the preceding period of insulin resistance. These findings suggest that insulin resistance plays an important role in the development of early vascular disease associated with diabetes. Cross-sectional and prospective studies confirm that insulin resistance is associated with subclinical vascular injury in patients with diabetes, independently of standard cardiovascular risk factors. Asymptomatic vascular disease associated with diabetes begins to occur early in life having been documented in children and adolescents. Insulin resistance should be considered a therapeutic target in order to prevent the vascular complications associated with diabetes.

Insulin resistance is associated with subclinical vascular disease in humans.

Insulin resistance is associated with subclinical vascular disease that is not justified by conventional cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking or hypercholesterolemia. Vascular injury associated to insulin resistance involves functional and structural damage to the arterial wall that includes impaired vasodilation in response to chemical mediators, reduced distensibility of the arterial wall (arterial stiffness), vascular calcification, and increased thickness of the arterial wall. Vascular dysfunction associated to insulin resistance is present in asymptomatic subjects and predisposes to cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Structural and functional vascular disease associated to insulin resistance is highly predictive of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Its pathogenic mechanisms remain undefined. Prospective studies have demonstrated that animal protein consumption increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and predisposes to type 2 diabetes (T2D) whereas vegetable protein intake has the opposite effect. Vascular disease linked to insulin resistance begins to occur early in life. Children and adolescents with insulin resistance show an injured arterial system compared with youth free of insulin resistance, suggesting that insulin resistance plays a crucial role in the development of initial vascular damage. Prevention of the vascular dysfunction related to insulin resistance should begin early in life. Before the clinical onset of T2D, asymptomatic subjects endure a long period of time characterized by insulin resistance. Latent vascular dysfunction begins to develop during this phase, so that patients with T2D are at increased cardiovascular risk long before the diagnosis of the disease.

Metabolic effects of glucagon in humans.

Diabetes is a common metabolic disorder that involves glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids. Either insulin deficiency or insulin resistance may cause diabetes. Insulin deficiency causes type 1 diabetes and diabetes associated with total pancreatectomy. Glucagon produces insulin resistance. Glucagon-induced insulin resistance promotes type 2 diabetes and diabetes associated with glucagonoma. Further, glucagon-induced insulin resistance aggravates the metabolic consequences of the insulin-deficient state. A major metabolic effect of insulin is the accumulation of glucose as glycogen in the liver. Glucagon opposes hepatic insulin action and enhances the rate of gluconeogenesis, increasing hepatic glucose output. In order to support gluconeogenesis, glucagon promotes skeletal muscle wasting to supply amino acids as gluconeogenic precursors. Glucagon promotes hepatic fatty acid oxidation to supply energy required to sustain gluconeogenesis. Hepatic fatty acid oxidation generates ß-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate (ketogenesis). Prospective studies reveal that elevated glucagon secretion at baseline occurs in healthy subjects who develop impaired glucose tolerance at follow-up compared with subjects who maintain normal glucose tolerance, suggesting a relationship between elevated glucagon secretion and development of impaired glucose tolerance. Prospective studies have identified animal protein consumption as an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Animal protein intake activates glucagon secretion inducing sustained elevations in plasma glucagon. Glucagon is a major hormone that causes insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is an established cardiovascular risk factor additionally to its pathogenic role in diabetes. Glucagon may be a potential link between animal protein intake and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.