Roles of interstitial fluid pH in diabetes mellitus: Glycolysis and mitochondrial function
Interstitial fluids have little pH-buffering molecules, while blood has very strong, powerful pH buffering molecules such as hemoglobin and albumin. Thus, even under mild but not severe metabolic disorder conditions, blood pH is kept constant within a normal range (7.35-7.45), but interstitial fluid pH would be lower than a normal level.
Interstitial fluids have little pH buffering capacity. Therefore, over production of acid metabolites lower pH of interstitial fluids even when the intracellular and “arterial” blood pH remains normal (Figures (Figures11 and and2).2). The lowered pH of interstitial fluids causes insulin resistance viareduced binding affinity of insulin to its receptor (Figures (Figures11 and and3).3). Acidic environments due to dysfunction of mitochondria occurring in type 2 diabetes mellitus lead to insulin resistance. Further, the acidic environment occurring in the brain would be related to diminution of neuronal function and onset of Alzheimer’s disease (Figure (Figure88).
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