Physiological and pathophysiological roles of NAMPT and NAD metabolism

Key Points Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is a regulator of the intracellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) pool and, thus, regulates the activity of NAD-dependent enzymes NAMPT is able to modulate processes involved in the pathogenesis of obesity and related disorders by influencing the oxidative stress response, apoptosis, lipid and glucose metabolism, inflammation and insulin resistance Levels of extracellular NAMPT are associated with various metabolic disorders NAMPT, which has a crucial role in cancer cell metabolism, is often overexpressed in tumour tissues and is an experimental target for antitumour therapies