Scientists at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals have made an exciting discovery that may change how we treat diabetes—a serious condition that affects how the body controls blood sugar. Their study, published on December 5th in the journal Cell, reveals a new target that could lead to better, more effective treatments.
Diabetes happens when the body can’t properly use insulin, a hormone that helps move sugar from the blood into the cells where it’s used for energy. When insulin doesn’t work well, blood sugar levels stay high, which over time can cause serious health problems like heart disease, kidney damage, and vision loss.
The research focused on a natural chemical in the body called nitric oxide. This chemical has many jobs. It helps widen blood vessels, helps the brain send signals, and even helps the immune system fight infections. But scientists have long been unsure exactly how nitric oxide does all these things inside the body.
In this study, the researchers discovered a special enzyme, or helper protein, called SCAN (short for SNO-CoA-assisted nitrosylase). This enzyme adds nitric oxide to other proteins in the body. One of those proteins is the insulin receptor—the part of cells that responds to insulin.
Here’s the surprising part: when the SCAN enzyme adds too much nitric oxide to the insulin receptor, it seems to interfere with how insulin works. The researchers found that people with diabetes—and mice with diabetes—had too much SCAN activity. But mice that didn’t have the SCAN enzyme were actually protected from developing diabetes.
This means that too much nitric oxide being added to the insulin receptor could be one of the causes of insulin not working properly in people with diabetes. And if we can block this enzyme, we might be able to prevent or even reverse some of the effects of diabetes.
Dr. Jonathan Stamler, who led the study, said this finding is not only important for diabetes but could also help us understand other serious diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart failure. These conditions have also been linked to problems with nitric oxide, but until now, scientists didn’t know exactly how to target it safely because it’s such a reactive molecule.
What makes this discovery different is that instead of trying to stop nitric oxide itself, researchers are now focusing on the enzymes—like SCAN—that control where and how nitric oxide works in the body.
This study provides a completely new way of thinking about diabetes. Instead of focusing only on insulin or sugar levels, it looks at a deeper level—the actual process that controls how insulin works in cells. The SCAN enzyme could be a key player in that process.
By identifying SCAN as a potential target, researchers can now start working on medications that block or reduce this enzyme’s activity. This could help restore normal insulin function and lower blood sugar levels. The same idea might also lead to new treatments for other diseases caused by too much nitric oxide activity.
Of course, this is still early-stage research. The findings in mice are very promising, but human trials will be needed to prove that targeting SCAN is safe and effective in people. It’s also important to learn more about how this enzyme works and whether blocking it might have side effects.
Still, this breakthrough opens the door to a whole new field of research and offers fresh hope to millions of people living with diabetes. If future studies go well, this could be the beginning of a new generation of treatments that target the root cause of the disease—not just its symptoms.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes, and what you need to know about avocado and type 2 diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about how to eat to prevent type 2 diabetes, and 5 vitamins that may prevent complication in diabetes.
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