An estimated 97.6 million adults aged 18 years and older had prediabetes in 2021, with the expected numbers on the rise. Prediabetes is a condition where an individuals blood sugar is elevated, whereas diabetes is a condition where the blood sugar is significantly increased due to the body’s ability to respond to insulin being impaired. Patients that are prediabetic are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and obesity. Mechanistically, insulin and leptin resistances are known to cause these disease conditions. Arsenic is a metalloid abundant in the environment, and arsenic exposure has been associated with the increased incidence of type 2 diabetes and obesity. However, the mechanism by which arsenic potentially causes metabolic disorders remains obscure. We hypothesize that exposure to arsenic leads to the leptin resistance through the dysregulation of the autophagic flux. The discovery of the mechanism linking arsenic exposure, diabetes and leptin resistance, which could provide new target molecules in preventing diabetes and obesity.
