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Role of protein kinase C in diabetic complications

George L King1, Net Das-Evcimen2

  • 1a Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Department of Vascular Cell Biology, Senior Vice President, Research Director, Joslin Diabetes Center, 1 Joslin Place, Boston, MA 02215, USA. george.king@joslin.harvard.edu.

Expert Review of Endocrinology & Metabolism
|April 3, 2019
PubMed

Insights

High blood sugar (hyperglycemia) contributes to diabetic complications by activating protein kinase C (PKC). This review details how PKC activation impacts blood vessels, leading to various health issues in diabetic patients.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Hyperglycemia is a key driver of macrovascular and microvascular complications in diabetes.
  • The activation of specific protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms by diabetes is a proposed mechanism for these vascular effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the molecular mechanisms underlying PKC activation in diabetes.
  • To elucidate the relationship between PKC activation and the development of diabetic vascular complications.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on PKC signaling pathways.
  • Analysis of studies investigating PKC isoform activation in diabetic vasculature.

Main Results:

  • PKC activity influences numerous vascular functions including permeability, contractility, and cell growth.
  • Abnormalities in these vascular properties are observed in diabetes.
  • Increased diacylglycerol-PKC pathway activation and specific PKC isoforms (PKCα, β1/2, δ) are correlated with diabetic complications in key organs like the retina, aorta, heart, and kidneys.

Conclusions:

  • PKC activation is a significant molecular mechanism linking hyperglycemia to diabetic vascular complications.
  • Targeting the diacylglycerol-PKC pathway and specific PKC isoforms may offer therapeutic strategies for managing diabetic complications.
Keywords:
LY333531PKC isoformsdiabetes mellitusdiabetic complicationsprotein kinase Cruboxistaurin

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