Reducing a specific protein in the fat cells of mice not only prevents onset of Type 2 diabetes but also appears to reverse the disease in the animals, researchers at the University of British Columbia and Sweden’s Karolinska Institute have found.
Reducing a specific protein in the fat cells of mice not only prevents onset of Type 2 diabetes but also appears to reverse the disease in the animals, researchers at the University of British Columbia and Sweden’s Karolinska Institute have found.
Researchers also found that levels of the protein, called CD248, were higher in the fat cells of people with diabetes, no matter their shape or size. When obesity-associated diabetes was reversed through weight loss, CD248 levels decreased to normal range, they found.
The findings, published today in EBioMedicine, a journal of The Lancet, hold promise for the development of a new and safe treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
“It’s early days but modifying the amount or function of CD248, in fat cells seems to be a promising new treatment strategy, an approach that may be eventually used by itself or with other drugs,” said co-senior author Dr. Edward Conway, professor in the faculty of medicine at UBC, director of the Centre for Blood Research and recipient of a Canada Research Chair in Endothelial Cell Biology. “With more than 60 million adults diagnosed in North America and Europe and many more with pre-diabetes, the number of people with Type 2 diabetes is staggering. And as the incidence of obesity increases, more effective treatments for Type 2 diabetes are urgently needed.”
Read more at The University of British Columbia
