Tier 4 — mechanistic

Insulin resistance and glycine metabolism in humans

Adeva-Andany M, Souto-Adeva G, Ameneiros-Rodríguez E, Fernández-Fernández C, Donapetry-García C, Domínguez-Montero A
Amino acids 2018 50(1):11-27

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 29094215
DOI
10.1007/s00726-017-2508-0
Funding
Funding was not specified in the indexed abstract; the full funding disclosure has not been verified.
Competing interests
The accessible abstract does not establish the authors' competing interests; absence of a statement is not evidence of no conflicts.

Study snapshot

DesignNarrative review
ModelHuman and preclinical literature
SampleReview of human insulin-resistance and glycine literature
InterventionBiological and clinical interpretation of glycine metabolism
DurationNot applicable; review
EndpointsInsulin resistance; Collagen and vascular biology; Metabolic pathways

What the study showed, in plain terms

This review explores why circulating glycine is often low in insulin resistance and how it participates in other metabolic pathways. The direction of causation remains an important unresolved question.

Key findings

  • Higher glycine has been associated with more favorable metabolic profiles.
  • Glycine participates in creatine, heme, glutathione, purine and collagen metabolism.

What this study can and cannot tell us

A mechanistic narrative cannot determine whether low glycine is a cause or consequence of disease.

The review does not establish a glycine prescription for diabetes or vascular disease.

Related papers in the corpus

Tier 2
The effect of glycine administration on the characteristics of physiological systems in human adults: A systematic review
Soh J et al. · GeroScience · 2024
Tier 4
Glycine metabolism in animals and humans: implications for nutrition and health
Wang W et al. · Amino acids · 2013
Tier 4
Glycine Metabolism and Its Alterations in Obesity and Metabolic Diseases
Alves A et al. · Nutrients · 2019
Tier 4
Alterations in glycine metabolism in obesity and chronic metabolic diseases - an update on new advances
Alves A et al. · Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care · 2023
Tier 4
Glycine as a conditionally essential amino acid and its relationship to l-serine
Holeček M et al. · Metabolism: clinical and experimental · 2025
Tier 4
A weak link in metabolism: the metabolic capacity for glycine biosynthesis does not satisfy the need for collagen synthesis
Meléndez-Hevia E et al. · Journal of biosciences · 2009

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction