Adenosine receptors and diabetes: Focus on the A(2B) adenosine receptor subtype

Over the last two decades, diabetes mellitus has become one of the most challenging health problems worldwide. Diabetes mellitus, classified as type I and II, is a pathology concerning blood glucose level in the body. The nucleoside adenosine has long been known to affect insulin secretion, glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism, through activation of four G protein coupled adenosine receptors (ARs), named A1, A2A, A2B and A3. Currently, the novel promising subtype to develop new drugs for diabetes treatment is the A2BAR subtype. The use of selective agonists and antagonists for A2BAR subtype in various diabetic animal models allowed us to identify several effects of A2BAR signaling in cell metabolism. In particular, the focus of this review is to summarize the studies on purinergic signaling associated with diabetes through A2BARs modulation.