NAF-1 and mNT are also implicated in a number of other human pathologies including diabetes, neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease, as well as in development, differentiation and aging.
Moreover, we first elucidated that defects in the function of MAMs in Ca(2+) uptake resulted in insulin insensitivity of adipocytes, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetes in Cisd2 knockout mice.
Studies in different model systems demonstrated a role for NAF-1 and mNT in the regulation of cellular iron, calcium and ROS homeostasis, and uncovered a key role for NEET proteins in critical processes, such as cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth, lipid and glucose homeostasis in obesity and diabetes, control of autophagy, longevity in mice, and senescence in plants.