Research Progress on Relationship between Iron Metabolism and Type 2 Diabetes and Intervention Effect of GLP-1

Abstract

Iron metabolism plays a regulatory role in a variety of metabolic diseases, and certain levels of serum iron are essential for maintaining homeostasis in the body, while excessive iron accumulation increases the risk of metabolic diseases, especially type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Pathological processes such as iron deposition, iron ptosis and iron death can activate oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, autophagy, etc., promote the amplification of the inflammatory cascade in the body, reduce antioxidant capacity, resulting in the gradual decline of islet β cell function, thereby promoting the occurrence and development of DM. Similarly, iron metabolism regulation plays an important role in complications such as diabetic target organs. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an important physiological sex hormone secreted by intestinal L cells. GLP-1 analogues or GLP-1 receptor agonists can regulate the process of iron metabolism, reduce iron overload or iron death-related inflammatory response, promote islet β cell proliferation and differentiation, and then improve insulin resistance and inhibit endothelial cell injury, playing an important role in the prevention and treatment of T2DM and its complications.