A new treatment for type 2 diabetes

According to a new study by researchers at Will Cornell Medical and New York Presclin, fatty proteins produced in human fat help protect insulin secretion cells called pancreatic β cells from type 2 diabetes. In middle-income people, higher levels of protein in the blood are also associated with the prevention of type 2 diabetes.
The study, published November 7 in the journal Nature Medicine, could shed light on the future development of type 2 diabetes treatments that target β cells and protect β cells.
“ One of the big problems associated with type 2 diabetes is that β cells stop functioning properly and disappear," said senior author Dr. James Rowe, an assistant professor of medicine and pharmacology at Will Cornell and a cardiologist at New York Presculan/Will Cornell Medical Center. About 30 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, up to 95 percent of whom have type 2 diabetes, in which the body no longer responds to insulin and pancreas β cells slowly stop secreting enough insulin.
Dr. Luo says some of the drugs currently β cells have side effects, such as lowering blood sugar levels too much. In addition, there is no effective treatment to prevent β cells from being lost. β type 2 diabetes patients who do not have normal cells must be injected with insulin to keep their blood sugar levels stable.
The team includes researchers from the lab's Will Cornell Medical Co., Noah Defel and Dr. Lucas Dao. They know that lipids play a β stimulating cells to secrete insulin, and speculate that the protein may be a potential treatment for type 2 diabetes.
To explore this theory, the scientists first conducted a study that increased the levels of lipose in mice with type 2 diabetes. They found that fatty hormones have long-term positive effects on diabetes, improving blood sugar and increasing insulin levels, while helping to prevent β of cells. "Our findings in mice suggest that more fatty acids in the blood translate into better diabetes control, " Dr. Luo said.
Dr. Lowe of mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine and his collaborators also studied human β cells in the lab and determined that ligands activate a molecule called C3a, which protects and supports β cell function. They further found that C3a inhibits an enzyme called Dusp26, which can damage β cells and cause them to die.
The researchers then directly blocked β DUSP26 activity in human cells and found that the treatment protected β cells from death. Similarly, when they inhibited DUSP26 activity in mice, β cells became healthier, meaning they could secrete insulin better.
“ I hope that liposin or DUSP26-guided therapy will prevent β cell failure in people with type 2 diabetes and avoid the need for insulin injections for treatment," said lead author Dr. Nicholas Gomez-Banoy, a postdoctoral researcher at Dr. Lo's lab.
To better understand how obesity can affect the health of people in the community, the team worked with researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital to evaluate 5,570 individuals who participated in the Flemingham Heart Study, a ongoing cardiovascular study in Massachusetts.
Scientists found that people with higher levels of fatty protein in their blood were less likely to develop diabetes in the future than those with lower levels. People with the highest levels of fatty acids had a more than 50 percent lower risk of diabetes than those with the lowest levels.
In addition, fatty levels are associated with the amount of sulple fat stored under the skin, rather than visceral fat stored in the abdomen. "Most people think fat has something to do with something bad, but it's more complicated than that, and it's more benign and even more protective than visceral fat.
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, who is also a member of the Will Metabolic Health Center and the Will Cornell Institute for Medical Cardiovascular Research.
Further research is needed to determine whether higher levels of fatty acids in the body protect them from diabetes and whether increased levels of fatty acids reduce the risk of diabetes in some populations.
Dr. Luo and his team are currently studying whether targeting β production of DUSP26 in cells could be a pathway to drug development.“ We hope this is a new treatment opportunity," Dr. Luo said. （cyy123.com）