The insulin-like properties of vanadium: a curiosity or a perspective for the treatment of diabetes?

Vanadium is a trace metal that has raised increasing interest in diabetology since the discovery of its insulin-like properties in vitro and in vivo. This brief article is a review of the most recent data concerning the cellular mechanisms by which vanadium salts stimulate glucose metabolism. The beneficial effects of vanadium on glucose homeostasis of animal models of insulinopenic or insulin-resistant diabetes are discussed. The perspectives that the use of vanadium opens for the treatment of diabetes are also considered, in the light of the potential toxicity of the element.