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Betatrophin in Diabetes Mellitus: the Epidemiological Evidence in Humans

  • Diabetes Epidemiology (NM Maruthur, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide, and while numerous treatments exist, none of the current pharmacologic therapies is curative. Pharmacologic approaches that increase beta cell mass may present an avenue for actual cure. There have been numerous reports on factors that can induce beta cell proliferation in rodents, whereas there are still very limited data on the occurrence of beta cell proliferation in humans. The recent discovery of the hormone betatrophin, which in mice counteracted glucose intolerance induced by insulin resistance by potently stimulating beta cell proliferation, has boosted the hope for a new target for drug development for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in humans. With the encouraging preclinical findings as a background, this review presents the available clinical data on betatrophin and discusses its possible role in humans.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgments

The original research cited from our group was generously supported by the Swedish Research Council (K2013-55X-15043), the EFSD/JDRF/Novo Nordisk Programme 2012, AFA Insurance, the Swedish Diabetes Association, the Swedish Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Olle Engkvist Byggmästare Foundation, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation and Diabetes Wellness Sverige.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, BMC, Husargatan 3, Box 571, Uppsala, SE-75123, Sweden

    Daniel Espes, Hanna Liljebäck & Per-Ola Carlsson

  2. Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Daniel Espes & Per-Ola Carlsson

  3. Department of Public Health Care, Uppsala University, BMC, Husargatan 3, Box 564, Uppsala, 75122, Sweden

    Mats Martinell

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  1. Daniel Espes
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  2. Mats Martinell
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Correspondence to Per-Ola Carlsson.

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Daniel Espes, Mats Martinell, Hanna Liljebäck, and Per-Ola Carlsson have no conflict of interest to declare.

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This article does not contain any original studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Diabetes Epidemiology

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Espes, D., Martinell, M., Liljebäck, H. et al. Betatrophin in Diabetes Mellitus: the Epidemiological Evidence in Humans. Curr Diab Rep 15, 104 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-015-0676-4

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