Potential Use of Vanadium Compounds in Therapeutics

D.      A. Barrio; S.      B. Etcheverry

Abstract

Vanadium is a trace element present in practically all cells in plants and animals. While the essentiality of vanadium for human beings remains to be well established, vanadium has become an increasingly important environmental metal. Vanadium compounds exert a variety of biological activities and responses. At pharmacological doses, vanadium compounds display relevant biological actions such as insulin and growth factor mimetic or enhancing effects, as well as osteogenic and cardioprotective activity. On the other hand, depending on the nature of compounds and their concentrations, toxicological actions and adverse side effects may also be shown. Nevertheless, the toxic effects may be useful to develop new antitumoral drugs. In this review, the authors summarize current knowledge and new advances on in vitro and in vivo effects of inorganic and organically-chelated vanadium compounds. The effects of vanadium derivatives on some cellular signaling pathways related to different diseases are compiled. In particular, the pathways relevant to the insulin mimetic, osteogenic, cadioprotective and antitumoral actions of vanadium compounds have been comprehensively reviewed. The knowledge of these intracellular signaling pathways may facilitate the rational design of new vanadium compounds with promising therapeutic applications as well as the understanding of secondary side effects derived from the use of vanadium as a therapeutic agent.

Keywords: Vanadium compounds, insuinmimics, antitumoral, osteogenic, cardioprotection, intracellular pathways, ERK and PI3-K pathways, oxidative stress, cardioprotective activity, organically-chelated vanadium compounds, insulin-mimetic/ antidiabetic activity, osteogenic actions, cardioprotective actions, dill seed, cytoplasm glutathione, metavanadate, insulin-mimetic actions, creatinine, thyroid hormone, hyperinsulinemic, non-insulin-dependent, diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), insulin-mimetic compounds, glutamine transporter, insulinomimetic-active species, diabetes mellitus type 2, gastrointestinal dis-turbances, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), normoglycemic effects, glucose transport, glycogen syn-thase, tyrosine phosphorylation, diabetes mellitus type 1, hyperglycemia, oral glucose tolerance, insulinmimetic actions, insulin signaling cascade, activate mi-togen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), osteoblasts, antidiabetic actions, VANADIUM OSTEOGENIC ACTIONS, extra cellu-lar organic matrix, hydroxyapatite lattice, fluoroapa-tite lattices affects, growth factor-mimetic compounds, osteoblast cell differentiation, osteogenic drug, diabetic symptoms, insu-linmimetic actions, staurosporine, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer agents, endothelial mouse cells