Renalase: its role as a cytokine, and an update on its association with type 1 diabetes and ischemic stroke.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose of review

Remarkable progress has been achieved over the past 2 years in understanding the cellular actions of renalase, its pathophysiology and potential therapeutic utility.

Recent findings

There has been a paradigm shift in our thinking about the mechanisms underlying the cellular actions of renalase. We now understand that, independent of its enzymatic properties, renalase functions as a signaling molecule, a cytokine that interacts with a yet-to-be identified plasma membrane receptor(s) to activate protein kinase B and the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. These signaling properties are critical to its cytoprotective effects. New information regarding renalase's enzymatic function as an α-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidase/anomerase will be review

SUBMITTER: Guo X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4383282 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature