Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals have made a significant breakthrough that could change the way we understand and treat diabetes, a chronic condition that affects millions of people around the world.
Their findings, published on December 5th in the journal Cell, could lead to new treatments that target the underlying causes of diabetes, potentially improving the lives of those who suffer from this condition.
Diabetes is a disease where the body has trouble managing blood sugar levels, often because insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar, doesn’t work as it should.
When blood sugar levels are too high over a long period, it can lead to serious health problems like heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.
The study focused on a compound called nitric oxide, which plays several important roles in the body, such as helping blood vessels widen, boosting memory, and fighting off infections. For years, scientists have been puzzled by how nitric oxide performs these functions.
The researchers discovered a key enzyme called SNO-CoA-assisted nitrosylase, or SCAN, which acts as a “carrier” for nitric oxide. This enzyme is responsible for attaching nitric oxide to various proteins, including those that help insulin work in the body.
Their research showed that SCAN is vital for normal insulin function. However, the study also found that in both humans and mice with diabetes, the activity of the SCAN enzyme was higher than normal.
This suggests that too much nitric oxide being attached to proteins by SCAN might be one of the reasons why insulin doesn’t work properly in people with diabetes.
In an interesting twist, the researchers found that mice that didn’t have the SCAN enzyme were protected from developing diabetes. This led them to believe that blocking the SCAN enzyme could prevent or treat diabetes.
Jonathan Stamler, the lead researcher, explained, “We show that blocking this enzyme protects from diabetes, but the implications extend to many diseases likely caused by novel enzymes that add nitric oxide. Blocking this enzyme may offer a new treatment.”
The next steps for the researchers involve developing drugs that target the SCAN enzyme. If successful, these drugs could represent a new and innovative approach to treating diabetes.
The role of nitric oxide in the body is complex, and its excessive attachment to proteins has been linked to several diseases, including Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart failure, and diabetes.
This discovery highlights the importance of enzymes like SCAN that help attach nitric oxide to proteins, shifting the focus of research toward these enzymes as potential targets for new treatments.
In diabetes, the body’s ability to respond to insulin becomes impaired, leading to high blood sugar levels that can cause various health problems over time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note that individuals with diabetes are at a higher risk for conditions like heart disease, vision problems, and kidney disease.
For many years, the exact reasons why insulin stops working correctly in people with diabetes have been unclear.
While it has been known that excessive nitric oxide is involved in many diseases, finding a way to target it directly has been challenging because nitric oxide is highly reactive and difficult to control.
Jonathan Stamler emphasized the significance of the discovery, saying, “This paper shows that dedicated enzymes mediate the many effects of nitric oxide. Here, we discover an enzyme that puts nitric oxide on the insulin receptor to control insulin.
Too much enzyme activity causes diabetes. But a case is made for many enzymes putting nitric oxide on many proteins, and, thus, new treatments for many diseases.”
In summary, this groundbreaking research provides new hope for the future of diabetes treatment by identifying a potential target for drug development.
It also enhances our understanding of the role of nitric oxide in various diseases, potentially opening the door to innovative treatments for a wide range of health conditions.
This discovery marks a significant step forward in the search for better ways to manage and treat diabetes and other related diseases.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies that flaxseed oil is more beneficial than fish oil to people with diabetes, and green tea could help reduce death risk in diabetes.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies that blueberries strongly benefit people with metabolic syndrome, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
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