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©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Apr 15, 2014; 5(2): 89-96
Published online Apr 15, 2014. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v5.i2.89
Published online Apr 15, 2014. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v5.i2.89
New insights into insulin: The anti-inflammatory effect and its clinical relevance
Qiang Sun, Jia Li, Feng Gao, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an 710032, Shannxi Province, China
Author contributions: Sun Q drafted the manuscript; Gao F contributed to the review and approved the final version of the manuscript; Li J revised and edited the manuscript.
Supported by The State Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81030005; The National High Technology Research and Development Program of China, No. 2014AA020542; and National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 31371150
Correspondence to: Jia Li, PhD, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fourth Military Medical University, 169 Changlexi Road, Xi’an 710032, Shannxi Province, China. jiali816@fmmu.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-29-84776423 Fax: +86-29-83246270
Received: November 28, 2013
Revised: February 8, 2014
Accepted: March 3, 2014
Published online: April 15, 2014
Processing time: 140 Days and 13.6 Hours
Revised: February 8, 2014
Accepted: March 3, 2014
Published online: April 15, 2014
Processing time: 140 Days and 13.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Hyperglycemia is closely correlated with poor outcomes of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. As the only glucose-lowering hormone in the body, insulin not only alleviates the detrimental effects of hyperglycemia through its metabolic regulation, but also directly modulates inflammatory mediators and acts upon immune cells to enhance immunocompetence. This review summarizes the recent advances regarding the anti-inflammatory effects of insulin from our laboratory as well as others, in the hope of leading to a better understanding of this old, classic and wonder hormone and its wider and effective applications in clinical practice.