Targeting Glucose Transport Proteins for Diabetes Management: Regulatory Roles of Food-Derived Compounds
Raliat O. Abioye, Innocent Uzochukwu Okagu, Chibuike C. Udenigwe
Abstract
With the rapid rise in prevalence, diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Impaired cellular glucose transport is a major contributor to diabetes progression and, thus, an important target for treatment. Functional foods are a rich source of antidiabetic agents. These compounds target multiple physiological contributors to diabetes with lower risk for side effects. This perspective highlights recent advances in food-derived compounds that regulate the gene expression or activity of glucose transport proteins (SGLT1, SGLT2, GLUT1, GLUT2, and GLUT4) and provides insights for future research on targeting the transporters as a promising antidiabetic mechanism of nutraceutical compounds.