94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Ion Channels and Channelopathies
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1552176
Recent insights on the impact of SWELL1 on metabolic syndromes
Provisionally accepted- 1 Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China
- 2 Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China
SWELL1 is a key component of the volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) and participates in cell volume regulation as an ion channel plasma membrane protein. While early studies focused on its role in immune cell development and tumor progression, recent studies have revealed that SWELL1 plays an important role in metabolic diseases. Studies have shown that SWELL1 is extensively involved in physiological processes in peripheral metabolic tissues, including adipocyte hypertrophy, skeletal muscle volume regulation, insulin secretion, and hepatic lipid metabolism through interactions with the insulin signaling pathway. These functions play key roles in the pathogenesis of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), suggesting that SWELL1 may be a new target for the treatment of metabolic diseases. In this review, we focus on the structural and functional characteristics of SWELL1 to provide an in-depth explanation of its role in the development of metabolic syndrome, especially the regulation of the insulin signaling pathway, and provide a basis for the development of therapeutic strategies for metabolic diseases targeting SWELL1.
Keywords: SWELL1, volume-regulated anion channel, metabolic syndrome, glucose metabolism, Lipid Metabolism
Received: 27 Dec 2024; Accepted: 03 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qin, Yi, Duan, Li and Chang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Tao Li, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China
Bo Chang, Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.