Lost in translation: endoplasmic reticulum stress and the decline of β-cell health in diabetes mellitus

Emerging data illustrate a pivotal role for activation of beta-cell endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways in diabetes pathophysiology. The purpose of this review is to appraise the evidence for beta-cell ER stress in human type 1 and 2 diabetes, review the molecular signalling pathways involved in the unfolded protein response and ER stress signalling, and to provide data from polyribosome profiling to illustrate the impact of ER stress on the mRNA translation response. Finally, we will discuss existing and novel therapeutic strategies that target beta-cell ER stress and discuss their use in rodent and human type 1 and 2 diabetes.