Adenosine receptors and diabetes: Focus on the A2B adenosine receptor subtype

Over the last two decades, diabetes mellitus has become one of the most challenging health problems worldwide. Diabetes mellitus, classified as type I and II, is a pathology concerning blood glucose level in the body. The nucleoside adenosine has long been known to affect insulin secretion, glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism, through activation of four G protein coupled adenosine receptors (ARs), named A(1), A(2A), A(2B) and A(3). Currently, the novel promising subtype to develop new drugs for diabetes treatment is the A(2B)AR subtype. The use of selective agonists and antagonists for A(2B)AR subtype in various diabetic animal models allowed us to identify several effects of A(2B)AR signaling in cell metabolism. In particular, the focus of this review is to summarize the studies on purinergic signaling associated with diabetes through A(2B)ARs modulation. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.