The impact of ATP-binding cassette transporters on metabolic diseases

Tao Wu,Yifei Lu,Zixiang Ye

doi:10.1186/s12986-020-00478-4

Tao Wu, Yifei Lu + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-020-00478-4

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Abstract

Currently, many people worldwide suffer from metabolic diseases caused by heredity and external factors, such as diet. One of the symptoms of metabolic diseases is abnormal lipid metabolism. ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters are one of the largest transport protein superfamilies that exist in nearly all living organisms and are mainly located on lipid-processing cells. ABC transporters have been confirmed to be closely related to the pathogenesis of diseases such as metabolic diseases, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease based on their transport abilities. Notably, the capability to transport lipids makes ABC transporters critical in metabolic diseases. In addition, gene polymorphism in ABC transporters has been reported to be a risk factor for metabolic diseases, and it has been reported that relevant miRNAs have significant roles in regulating ABC transporters. In this review, we integrate recent studies to examine the roles of ABC transporters in metabolic diseases and aim to build a network with ABC transporters as the core, linking their transport abilities with metabolic and other diseases.

Highlights

Metabolic diseases are common in many countries
Abnormal lipid metabolism commonly occurs in metabolic diseases, and ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters have received increasing attention for their potential to treat several metabolic diseases simultaneously
The ability of ABC transporters to induce multidrug resistance (MDR) and the promoting effect of metabolic diseases on cancer highlight the significance of ABC proteins in cancer with concomitant metabolic disease

Summary

Introduction

Metabolic diseases are common in many countries. These diseases include a wide range of aliments, such as obesity, atherosclerosis (AS), stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and Tangier disease (TD). One of the applications of ABC transporters is to regulate lipid metabolism. Their ability to cause MDR and facilitate metabolic diseases associated with cancer make ABC transporters a focus in cancer treatment. An overall understanding of ABC transporters is key to treating cancer patients with metabolic diseases.

Results

Conclusion