In a new study from the University of Otago, researchers discovered one of the reasons why more than 50 percent of people with type 2 diabetes die from heart disease.
And perhaps more importantly, they have found how to treat it.
It has been known that stem cells in the heart of diabetic patients are impaired. While stem cell therapy has proved effective in treating heart disease, it is not the case in diabetic hearts.
It has not been known why; until now. It comes down to tiny molecules called microRNA which control gene expression.
In the study, based on the results of laboratory testing, the team identified the number of microRNAs that are impaired in stem cells of the diabetic heart
Among several microRNAs they identified that one particular microRNA called miR-30c — which is crucial for the stem cells’ survival, growth and new blood vessel formation — is reduced in the diabetic stem cells.
All these functions are required for stem cell therapy to be successful in the heart.
Importantly, they also confirmed that this microRNA is decreased in the stem cells collected from the heart tissue of the patients undergoing heart surgery.
Researchers were able to then increase the level of the lacking miR-30c in the heart by a “simple injection.” This resulted in significantly improving the survival and growth of stem cells in the diabetic heart.
This discovery has newly identified that impairment in the microRNAs is the underlying reason for the stem cells being not functional in the diabetic heart.
More importantly, the results have identified a novel therapy for activation of stem cells in the heart using microRNA, without the need to inject stem cells, which is a time and cost-consuming process.
The team says it could help diabetes- sufferers lead a longer, quality life. They will now undertake more laboratory testing before moving on to humans.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about this diet may lower diabetes risk by 30% and findings of people with type 2 diabetes can eat potatoes.
For more information about diabetes prevention and treatment, please see recent studies about these common drugs linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes and results showing that type 2 diabetes weight loss recommendations could be harmful for some people.
The study is published in Diabetologia. One author of the study is Associate Professor Rajesh Katare.
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