• The role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in diabetes and its complications
  • Ali tavakoli,1,* Roya Sharifi,2 Navid Zareshahabadi,3
    1. Student research committee,school of allied medicine,Iran university of medical science,Tehran,Iran
    2. Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Science.
    3. Student research committee,school of allied medicine,Iran university of medical science,Tehran,Iran


  • Introduction: Diabetes is a complex metabolic disease characterized by increased levels of blood glucose as a result of insulin resistance or impaired insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells. Recent studies have suggested that endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis is involved in diabetes. Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) is an ER stress protein that is overexpressed under ER stress conditions. In this review study, the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress, especially GRP78, is investigated in diabetes.
  • Methods: In this review article, the studies conducted using the keywords of diabetes, ER stress, GRP78 in the databases PubMed, Science direct, Scopus, Google Scholar.
  • Results: The level of GRP78 increases in the tissue and serum of diabetic patients. Increased CRP78 causes apoptosis of pancreatic beta cells and inhibition of the insulin receptor. Also, the increase of csGRP78 (cell surface) causes the production of proteins (like collagen and fibronectin) in the extracellular matrix (ECM), which leads to the accumulation of ECM in the glomerulus and causes nephropathy. On the other hand, the increase of GRP78 in the retinal cell inhibits ATF4, which plays an important role in inhibiting oxidative stress.
  • Conclusion: GRP78 contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetes and its complications. Therefore can be considered as a therapeutic target for the treatment of this disease.
  • Keywords: Diabetes, Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, GRP78