The lymphocyte as a cellular model to study insights into the pathophysiology of diabetes and its complications

Blood cells from subjects with hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus have been successfully studied in the past to gain insight into pathological alterations of several signal transduction pathways. Diabetes mellitus is also considered to be a disease of abnormal cellular Ca2+ metabolism, as metabolic derangements of Ca2+ transport have been noticed both in the prediabetic state and as a consequence of hyperglycemia and oxidative stress. In this report, we used peripheral blood lymphocytes from type 2 diabetes patients and control subjects to study and delineate different mechanisms of Ca2+ turnover that determine the level of cytosolic calcium (Ca(i)). While demonstrating the specific Ca2+ turnover alterations, we suggest that insights into the pathophysiology of diabetic complications originating from signal transduction defects could be conveniently studied using blood cell types such as lymphocytes and that such studies could lead to the identification of new molecular drug targets.