Identification of thioredoxin binding protein-2 (TBP-2), which is currently known as thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP), as an important binding partner for thioredoxin (TRX) revealed that an evolutionarily conserved reduction-oxidation (redox) signal complex plays an important role for pathophysiology. Due to the reducing activity of TRX, the TRX/TXNIP signal complex has been shown to be an important regulator for redox-related signal transduction in many types of cells in various species. In addition to its role in redox-dependent regulation, TXNIP has cellular functions that are performed in a redox-independent manner, which largely rely on their scaffolding function as an ancestral α-Arrestin family. Both the redox-dependent and -independent TXNIP functions serve as regulatory pathways in glucose metabolism. This review highlights the key advances in understanding TXNIP function as a master regulator for whole-body glucose homeostasis. The potential for therapeutic advantages of targeting TXNIP in diabetes and the future direction of the study are also discussed.
Keywords: TBP-2; TXNIP; glucose homeostasis.