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World J Diabetes. Jun 15, 2025; 16(6): 105709
Published online Jun 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i6.105709
Autophagy in Schwann cells: A potential pharmacotherapeutic target in diabetic peripheral neuropathy
Qi-Chang Xing, Jia Chen, Zheng Liu, Wen-Can Li, Xiang Liu, Wei Li
Qi-Chang Xing, Jia Chen, Zheng Liu, Wen-Can Li, Xiang Liu, Wei Li, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Xiangtan Central Hospital (The Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University), Xiangtan 411100, Hunan Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Qi-Chang Xing and Wei Li.
Author contributions: Xing QC and Li W conceptualized and designed the study, created the artwork, supervised, and made critical revisions, they contributed equally as co-corresponding authors; Liu Z, Li WC, and Liu X conducted the literature review, performed the analysis, interpretated the data, and drafted the original manuscript; Xing QC, Chen J, Liu Z, Li WC, Liu X, and Li W prepared the draft and approved the submitted version.
Supported by Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, No. 2023JJ60497; Chinese Medicine Research Program of Hunan Province, No. 2021169; and Xiangtan Medical Research Project Plan, No. 2022-xtyx-34 and No. 2022-xtyx-36.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
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: Qi-Chang Xing, Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Xiangtan Central Hospital (The Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University), No. 120 Heping Road, Xiangtan 411100, Hunan Province, China. 67324457@qq.com
Received: February 5, 2025
Revised: March 27, 2025
Accepted: May 16, 2025
Published online: June 15, 2025
Processing time: 129 Days and 10.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This article underscores the critical role of autophagy in Schwann cells in the progression of diabetic peripheral neuropathy progression, highlight its potential as a pharmacotherapeutic target. It explored autophagy mechanisms (mammalian target of rapamycin, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, and phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase/parkin pathways), their dysregulation in diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and various autophagy-modulating agents (natural products and chemical drugs) that promote nerve regeneration and recovery of Schwann cell function.