Inside our cells, tiny structures called mitochondria create the energy we need to live. These are often called the “powerhouses” of the cell because they turn food into energy.
When mitochondria don’t work properly, it can lead to serious health issues—including type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes happens when the body cannot make enough insulin or use it the right way. Insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar. Without it, sugar builds up in the blood, which can cause many health problems.
Scientists have known that people with diabetes have damaged mitochondria in their insulin-making cells, called β-cells. These cells are found in the pancreas and are very important for keeping blood sugar levels normal. But until now, researchers didn’t know exactly why the mitochondria stopped working.
A new study from the University of Michigan, published in the journal Science, may have found the answer. Scientists studied mice to see what happens when mitochondria in β-cells become damaged.
They found that damaged mitochondria send stress signals that make β-cells act like immature cells. These immature cells stop making insulin properly, which can lead to diabetes.
Dr. Emily M. Walker, who led the study, said her team focused on three parts that help mitochondria stay healthy: mitochondrial DNA, a system that removes damaged mitochondria, and a repair system that keeps them working. When any of these parts failed, the same stress signal appeared, and the β-cells lost their ability to function.
The team also checked if this problem happened in other cells, like liver cells and fat-storing cells. They saw the same thing—when mitochondria were damaged, the cells became immature and stopped working.
Dr. Scott A. Soleimanpour, the senior author of the study, said that diabetes is a complex disease that affects many parts of the body. It’s not just about blood sugar; it also includes weight gain, liver problems, and muscle issues. This study suggests that problems with mitochondria might be at the root of all these issues.
One of the most exciting parts of the research is that the damaged cells didn’t die. This means they could still be repaired. To test this idea, the researchers gave the mice a drug called ISRIB, which blocks the stress response caused by damaged mitochondria.
After four weeks of treatment, the β-cells started making insulin again, and the mice had normal blood sugar levels.
Dr. Soleimanpour said this shows a possible reason why β-cells stop working in people with diabetes. Even more important, it shows that there may be ways to repair these cells and possibly reverse the disease.
The team is now studying this process in more detail and plans to test their findings using human cells from people with diabetes. If this works, it could lead to new treatments that fix the real cause of diabetes instead of just treating the symptoms.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes, and to people with diabetes, some fruits are better than others.
For more health information, please see recent studies that low calorie diets may help reverse diabetes, and 5 vitamins that may prevent complication in diabetes.
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