Abstract
PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: This review summarizes current understanding on the roles of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) metabolism in the pathogeneses and treatment development of metabolic and cardiac diseases. RECENT FINDINGS: NAD(+) was identified as a redox cofactor in metabolism and a co-substrate for a wide range of NAD(+)-dependent enzymes. NAD(+) redox imbalance and depletion are associated with many pathologies where metabolism plays a key role, for example cardiometabolic diseases. This review is to delineate the current knowledge about harnessing NAD(+) metabolism as potential therapy for cardiometabolic diseases. The review has summarized how NAD(+) redox imbalance and depletion contribute to the pathogeneses of cardiometabolic diseases. Therapeutic evidence involving activation of NAD(+) synthesis in pre-clinical and clinical studies was discussed. While activation of NAD(+) synthesis shows great promise for therapy, the field of NAD(+) metabolism is rapidly evolving. Therefore, it is expected that new mechanisms will be discovered as therapeutic targets for cardiometabolic diseases.