Harnessing NAD + Metabolism as Therapy for Cardiometabolic Diseases

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. Summary 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.