Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Jul 15, 2023; 14(7): 1013-1026
Published online Jul 15, 2023. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v14.i7.1013
Tight junction disruption and the pathogenesis of the chronic complications of diabetes mellitus: A narrative review
Ma Ludivina Robles-Osorio, Ernesto Sabath
Ma Ludivina Robles-Osorio, Nutrition School, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Queretaro 76230, Mexico
Ernesto Sabath, Renal and Metabolism Unit, Hospital General de Querétaro, Queretaro 76180, Mexico
Ernesto Sabath, Department of Nutrition, Universidad Autónoma de Queretaro, Queretaro 76230, Mexico
Author contributions: Robles-Osorio ML and Sabath E designed the research study, performed the review of the literature and the article selection; Sabath E wrote the manuscript; Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential nor real competing interests were reported by the authors.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ernesto Sabath, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Director, Renal and Metabolism Unit, Hospital General de Querétaro, Adalberto Martínez 448, Queretaro 76180, Mexico. esabath@yahoo.com
Received: January 28, 2023
Peer-review started: January 28, 2023
First decision: March 14, 2023
Revised: March 20, 2023
Accepted: May 23, 2023
Article in press: May 23, 2023
Published online: July 15, 2023
Core Tip

Core Tip: Chronic complications of diabetes mellitus constitute a major public health problem. Tight junctions are epithelial intercellular junctions, and their main function is to restrict the passage of molecules through the paracellular space. TJ disruption plays a fundamental pathophysiological role in the development of diabetic chronic complications. Increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier and the blood-retinal barrier are related to development of diabetic neuropathy and diabetic retinopathy.