Abstract
The diabetic phenotype is complex, requiring elucidation of key initiating defects. Recent research has shown that diabetic myotubes express a primary reduced tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux. A reduced TCA cycle flux has also been shown both in insulin resistant offspring of T2D patients and exercising T2D patients in vivo. This review will discuss the latest advances in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating the TCA cycle with focus on possible underlying mechanism which could explain the impaired TCA flux in insulin resistant human skeletal muscle in type 2 diabetes. A reduced TCA is both a marker and a maker of the diabetic phenotype.
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Acknowledgements
We apologize to those investigators whose work pertinent to this topic could not be discussed or cited because of format limitations. Research in the author’s laboratory is supported by project grants from The Danish Medical Research Council, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Danish Diabetes Association.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.