Lithium and Therapeutic Targeting of GSK-3

• Published in: Cells (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 255
• Main Authors: Snitow, Melinda E, Bhansali, Rahul S, Klein, Peter S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 28-01-2021; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Animals; Antimanic Agents - pharmacology; Antimanic Agents - therapeutic use; bipolar disorder; Bipolar Disorder - drug therapy; Bipolar Disorder - metabolism; cancer; coronavirus; Coronavirus - drug effects; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 - metabolism; GSK-3; Humans; lithium; Lithium Compounds - pharmacology; Lithium Compounds - therapeutic use; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neurodegenerative Diseases - drug therapy; Neurodegenerative Diseases - metabolism; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases - metabolism; Review; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - drug therapy; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - metabolism; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Wnt; nucleocapsid; lithium; bipolar disorder; coronavirus; GSK-3; cancer; Wnt; severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
• ISSN: 2073-4409; 2073-4409
• DOI: 10.3390/cells10020255

Lithium salts have been in the therapeutic toolbox for better or worse since the 19th century, with purported benefit in gout, hangover, insomnia, and early suggestions that lithium improved psychiatric disorders. However, the remarkable effects of lithium reported by John Cade and subsequently by Mogens Schou revolutionized the treatment of bipolar disorder. The known molecular targets of lithium are surprisingly few and include the signaling kinase glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), a group of structurally related phosphomonoesterases that includes inositol monophosphatases, and phosphoglucomutase. Here we present a brief history of the therapeutic uses of lithium and then focus on GSK-3 as a therapeutic target in diverse diseases, including bipolar disorder, cancer, and coronavirus infections.