Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common metabolic disease. A WHO report from 2016 indicates that 422 million people worldwide suffer from DM or hyperglycaemia because of impaired glucose metabolism. Chronic hyperglycaemia leads to micro- and macrovessel damage, which may result in life-threatening complications. The Wnt pathway regulates cell proliferation and survival by modulating the expression of genes that control cell differentiation. Three linked Wnt pathways have been discovered thus far: a β-catenin-dependent pathway and two pathways independent of β-catenin - the planar cell polarity pathway and calcium-dependent pathway. The Wnt pathway regulates genes associated with inflammation, cell cycle, angiogenesis, fibrinolysis and other molecular processes.
Areas covered: This review presents the current state of knowledge regarding the contribution of the Wnt pathway to endothelial ageing under hyperglycaemic conditions and provides new insights into the molecular basis of diabetic endothelial dysfunction.
Conclusion: The β-catenin-dependent pathway is a potential target in the prophylaxis and treatment of early-stage diabetes-related vascular complications. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely undetermined and require further investigation.
Keywords: Endothelial cells; Wnt pathway; hyperglycaemia.