Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Osteoarthritis: the Role of Glucose Transporters

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and osteoarthritis (OA) are the most common chronic diseases worldwide. Previous studies indicate the involvement of glucose transporters (GLUTs) in the development of OA induced by diabetes—specifically, the increased glucose level inside the cell and its positive effect on cytokines’ or AGE receptors’ activity. Thus, a study was conducted to investigate whether T2DM increases the chance of developing OA and what role GLUTs play in causing this disease. To identify the research question in this scoping review, a preliminary search was carried out in the PubMed database, looking at studies of T2DM and OA and their association with GLUTs. Searches for articles in English were carried out in the PubMed database. The search components were first evaluated using a MeSH term system. The search terms were divided into three groups: T2DM, OA, and GLUT. After removing duplicates from the original search (n = 3252), 864 studies were retrieved for the screening stage. A total of 104 studies were included in the selection phase, and, in the end, 36 studies were eligible. According to the studies, four themes—T2DM and GLUTs, OA and GLUTs, T2DM and OA, and T2DM and OA and GLUTs—were found to classify the findings. In conclusion, GLUT-1 composition in the plasma membrane of articular cell and chondrocyte increases glucose uptake in hyperglycemic conditions. This event leads to increased levels of inflammatory cytokines—such as IL-1β, TGF-β1, and MMP—oxidative stress, and AGEs. Therefore, these alterations induce the deleterious effects of glucotoxicity at the joint surface, which ultimately leads to OA.