2. Academic Validation
  3. Retinol Saturase: More than the Name Suggests

Retinol Saturase: More than the Name Suggests

  • Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2020 Jun;41(6):418-427. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2020.03.007.
Pamela Weber 1,  Roberto E Flores 1,  Marie F Kiefer 1,  Michael Schupp 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Pharmacology, Center for Cardiovascular Research, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
  • 2 Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Pharmacology, Center for Cardiovascular Research, 10115 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: michael.schupp@charite.de.
PMID: 32345479 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2020.03.007
Abstract

Retinol saturase (RetSat) is an oxidoreductase that is expressed in metabolically active tissues and is highly regulated in conditions related to Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Thus far, RetSat has been implicated in adipocyte differentiation, hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism, macrophage function, vision, and the generation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Although initially described to transform retinol to 13,14-dihydroretinol, a function it was named after, alternative enzymatic reactions may underlie some of these biological effects. We summarize recent findings and identify major obstacles standing in the way of its pharmacological exploitation, how we might overcome these, and discuss the therapeutic potential of modulating the activity of RetSat in alleviating human pathologies.

Keywords

RetSat; adipogenesis; lipid; liver; reactive oxygen species; retinoids.

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