Mitochondrial oxidative stress and diabetic complications

Abstract

Mitochondrial oxidative stress and diabetic complicationsBackgroundA major limitation of the use of the current animal models of type I diabetes for therapeutic discovery is the relatively poor representation of the various long-term complications observed in the human condition. Mitochondria are the key energy generating machines in the body’s building blocks (‘cells’), and when disturbed can produce harmful toxins (called free radicals), resulting in oxidative stress. Mitochondrial oxidative stress, such as induced by high glucose levels, is strongly implicated in the development of diabetic blood vessel damage (vascular complications), and is therefore relevant to the important goal of pr..