In a new study, researchers have discovered that some calcium channels play a key role in the development of diabetes.
They have deciphered the diabetogenic role of a certain type of calcium channel in insulin-secreting beta cells.
The researchers believe that blockade of these channels could be a potential new treatment for diabetes.
The research was conducted by a team at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
CaV3.1 channels have a marginal role in healthy insulin-secreting beta cells in the endocrine pancreas but become hyperactive along with the occurrence of diabetes.
This raises a critical question of whether the hyperactivation of these calcium channels is a cause or consequence of diabetes.
In the study, the team found that increased expression of CaV3.1 leads to excessive calcium influx, impairing the genomic expression of exocytotic proteins in beta cells.
This leads to a reduced insulin-secretion capacity of beta cells and aberrant glucose homeostasis.
The role of CaV3.1 in the development of diabetes was examined with a series of methods, including experiments on rat and human pancreatic islets and diabetic rats.
The experimental models suggest that the results apply to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but more studies are needed to verify this.
Now, the researchers want to work out if increased expression of CaV3.1 also alters transcriptomic profiles in other types of cells, such as vascular smooth muscle cells and T cells of the immune system to contribute to the development of diabetes and its complications.
The lead author of the study is Dr. Jia Yu, Senior Researcher at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet.
The study is published in the scientific journal PNAS.
Copyright © 2019 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
