Cardiovascular Actions of Insulin

DanyC submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (edrv.endojournals.org)

"Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in insulin resistant individuals. Insulin resistance is typically defined as decreased sensitivity and/or responsiveness to metabolic actions of insulin. This cardinal feature of diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemias is also a prominent component of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and atherosclerosis that are all characterized by endothelial dysfunction. Conversely, endothelial dysfunction is often present in metabolic diseases. Insulin resistance is characterized by pathway-specific impairment in PI3K-dependent signaling that in vascular endothelium contributes to a reciprocal relationship between insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction. The clinical relevance of this coupling is highlighted by the findings that specific therapeutic interventions targeting insulin resistance often also ameliorate endothelial dysfunction (and vice versa). In this review, we discuss molecular mechanisms underlying cardiovascular actions of insulin, the reciprocal relationships between insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction, and implications for developing beneficial therapeutic strategies that simultaneously target metabolic and cardiovascular diseases."

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases Insulin Receptors IV insulin