osmolytes, diabetes, and humans



F

Frank Roy

Guest
In another newsgroup the topic of osmolytes came up when the discussion of supplements of this
category, such as sorbitol, betaine, and taurine, were mentioned. Since the impact of various
osmolytes had varied results upon differing cell types and tissues as well as certain types of
diseases, I decided to narrow the topic down for diabetes using the following search.

A search across multiple science and health journals resulted in 308 finds for
osmolytes+diabetes+human. http://tinyurl.com/2fjxo

Due to my lack of knowledge of physiology and biochemistry, I did not realize how significant this
topic was to health in general and diabetes in particular. The following article is available in
full and the text part of the article is 40 pages (the whole article including references used and
references citing is 176 pages). There is a good index at the beginning of the article. There are a
number of portions of this article that are especially pertainate to diabetes such as on pages 25
and 30+. Use your browser find feature for "metabolism, insulin, glucose, glucagon" for instance.

Functional Significance of Cell Volume Regulatory Mechanisms -
http://physrev.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/78/1/247 "In hepatocytes (liver cells), the
influence of cell volume on metabolism is one way that insulin and glucagon exert their metabolic
effects. Insulin increases liver cell volume by activation of Na+/H+ exchange and Na+-K+-2Cl
cotransport and thus triggers a variety of metabolic functions, including protein and glycogen
synthesis and inhibition of protein and glycogen degradation." For ions, Na = sodium, K = potassium,
Cl = cloride.

Heart: Aldose Reductase Induced by Hyperosmotic Stress Mediates Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis -
http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/abstract/278/40/38484

Kidneys: Osmoregulation of Taurine Transporter Function and Expression in Retinal Pigment
Epithelial, Ganglion, and Müller Cells http://www.iovs.org/cgi/content/abstract/45/2/694

The information is available for the taking.

Cheers, Frank