Targeting the Pentose Phosphate Pathway in Syndrome X-related Cardiovascular Complications

Syndrome X is a combination or co-occurrence of several known cardiovascular risk factors (including central obesity, dyslipidemias, fatty liver disease, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and hypertension) that affects at least one in five people in developed countries. Syndrome X shortens life and increases morbidity by contributing to the development of both diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Type 1 or 2 diabetes affects approximately 170 million people globally and these numbers are rapidly rising. In patients with diabetes, vascular diseases develop early and progress at an accelerated rate. It has recently become evident that glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the rate limiting enzyme in the pentose-phosphate pathway and its reaction products play key roles in regulating vascular function. Epidemiological studies have also shown that G6PD deficiency markedly reduces retinopathy and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases in males from certain Mediterranean regions. Conversely, G6PD expression and activity are upregulated in rat and mouse models of obesity, hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, and a role for G6PD in the development of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes has been proposed. Unfortunately, there are no selective drugs available to validate the hypothesis that G6PD and its products are involved in the development of Syndrome X in humans. This review discusses the potential mechanisms by which G6PD could be implicated in vascular diseases in Syndrome X and the need to develop new approaches, including new drugs and molecular tools, to ameliorate diabetes-induced vascular dysfunction and vasculopathies.