PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers validate the potential of a protein for the treatment of type 2 diabetes

The study shows that the lack of Mitofusin 2 in mice produces insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, the main causes of diabetes

Researchers validate the potential of a protein for the treatment of type 2 diabetes
2012-03-26
(Press-News.org) Researchers at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have discovered that deficiency of a single protein, Mitofusin 2, in muscle and hepatic cells of mice is sufficient to cause tissues to become insensitive to insulin, thus producing an increase in blood glucose concentrations. These are the two most common conditions prior to development of diabetes type 2. Published in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study validates Mitofusin 2 as a possible target for the treatment of diabetes type 2.

"Resistance to insulin plays a key role in the development of diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia (alteration of lipid concentrations) and obesity. Mitofusin 2 may provide a specific target for the development of drugs that could hold back a disease that affects millions of people worldwide", explains the head of the study, Antonio Zorzano, full professor of the University of Barcelona, coordinator of the Molecular Medicine Programme at IRB Barcelona, and head of the Heterogenic and Polygenic Diseases lab at the same centre.

The World Health Organization estimates that there will be 350 million people suffering from diabetes in 2020. Diabetes type 2 accounts for 90% of diabetes cases and is due to a great extent to excess body weight, poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyle. According to the Spanish Society of Diabetes, in Spain 6.5% of the current population between 30 and 65 years has this disease and about 11.6 % of Spaniards are at risk of developing it.

Target: Mitofusin 2

Previous studies performed at IRB Barcelona demonstrate that both obese and diabetes type 2 subjects have low levels of muscle Mitofusin 2. This protein controls the insulin signaling pathway in the liver and muscles. The scientists have observed that deficiency of this protein causes alterations in mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum, two crucial organelles for correct cell functioning. "We have shown that the accumulation of dysfunctions in these two structures alters cell behavior and favors the appearance of pre-diabetes symptoms", say the main authors of the article, David Sebastián and María Isabel Hernández-Álvarez, post-doctoral fellows in Zorzano's team.

INFORMATION:

The study has been partially funded by the European projects MITIN, part of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and DIOMED, belonging to INTERREG/SUDOE/FEDER, both coordinated by Antonio Zorzano at IRB Barcelona, with the support of the "CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas" (CIBERDEM), of the "Instituto de Salud Carlos III".

Reference article:

Mfn2 links mitochondrial and ER function with insulin signaling and is essential for normal glucose homeostasis. David Sebastián, María Isabel Hernández-Alvarez, Jessica Segalés, Eleonora Sorianello, Juan Pablo Muñoz, David Sala, Aurélie Waget, Marc Liesa, José C. Paz, Gopal Peddinti, Matej Orešič, Sara Pich, Remy Burcelin, Manuel Palacín, Antonio Zorzano.

PNAS (2012): Doi 10.1073/pnas.1108220109

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Researchers validate the potential of a protein for the treatment of type 2 diabetes

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Tom and Jerry Games Launches Two New Games

2012-03-26
Tom and Jerry Games, a free game website featuring entertainment inspired by some of the world's most beloved cartoons, has launched two new games, Tom and Jerry Iceball and Jerry Dressup. The two new games add even more depth to the stunning selection of games already present on the Tom and Jerry Games website, which allows parents and children to bond over activities based on animated characters that helped define the childhood of many of today's parents. The games featured on the website, including the new Tom and Jerry Iceball and Jerry Dressup, authentically channel ...

Biomarkers for autism discovered

2012-03-26
An important step towards developing a rapid, inexpensive diagnostic method for autism has been take by Uppsala University, among other universities. Through advanced mass spectrometry the researchers managed to capture promising biomarkers from a tiny blood sample. The study has just been published in the prestigious journal Nature Translational Psychiatry. There are no acknowledged biomarkers for autism today. Researchers at Berzelii Centre and the Science for Life Laboratory in Uppsala who, in collaboration with colleagues at Linnaeus University in Sweden and the Faculty ...

Study identifies genetic variants linked to fatty liver disease in obese children

2012-03-26
New research found the genetic variant Patatin-like phospholipase domain containing protein-3 (PNPLA3) acting in conjunction with the glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) is associated with increased susceptibility to fatty liver disease in obese children. The study, published in the March issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, determined the PNPLA3 and GCKR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were responsible for up to 39% of the hepatic fat content in this pediatric population. Obesity is a global health concern ...

Mario dash Games Launches Three New Games

2012-03-26
Mario Dash Games, a free gaming website offering interactive Flash games based on beloved Nintendo characters such as Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario, has introduced three new games to its roster: World of Mario, Mario Zombie Explode, and Mario Bubaboom. The three games are consistent with the mission of Mario Dash Games, which is to provide engaging, amusing online games without the cost of an expensive console or the need to buy separate games. Whether you have a few minutes to kill or an entire weekend washed out by rain, Mario Dash Games is an ideal way to beat boredom, ...

Danes top international health study

2012-03-26
Danish consumers are attracting attention in a new international study on healthy heating. More than 3,000 consumers from five European countries were asked whether they are willing to accept national economic interventions to promote healthy eating habits. The results are unequivocal: Danes have the most positive attitude towards economic interventions within the nutritional area, and are also willing to pay more to eat more healthily, says PhD student Jessica Aschemann-Witzel from Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences, who is one of the architects of the ...

Archaeologists reconstruct diet of Nelson's Navy with new chemical analysis of excavated bones

2012-03-26
Salt beef, sea biscuits and the occasional weevil; the food endured by sailors during the Napoleonic wars is seldom imagined to be appealing. Now a new chemical analysis technique has allowed archaeologists to find out just how dour the diet of Georgian sailors really was. The team's findings, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology also reveal how little had changed for sailors in the 200 years between the Elizabethan and Georgian eras. The research, led by Professor Mark Pollard from the University of Oxford, focused on bones from 80 sailors who served ...

Synder Filtration to Exhibit Filtration at the International Cheese Technology Expo and ECOAT 2012 in April

Synder Filtration to Exhibit Filtration at the International Cheese Technology Expo and ECOAT 2012 in April
2012-03-26
As a leading supplier of membrane technology to the dairy and ecoat industries worldwide, Synder Filtration will be exhibiting at both the International Cheese Technology Expo and ECOAT 2012 next month. Visit booth #344 at the Cheese Expo and the exhibit hall at ECOAT 2012 to meet with Synder's friendly and experienced sales, engineering, and business development staff. Synder's representatives are excited to not only reconnect with current customers, but also forge new partnerships in quality and service. Both flagship products, such as membrane elements and anolyte technology ...

Astronomers put forward new theory on size of black holes

2012-03-26
Astronomers have put forward a new theory about why black holes become so hugely massive – claiming some of them have no 'table manners', and tip their 'food' directly into their mouths, eating more than one course simultaneously. Researchers from the UK and Australia investigated how some black holes grow so fast that they are billions of times heavier than the sun. The team from the University of Leicester (UK) and Monash University in Australia sought to establish how black holes got so big so fast. Their research is due to published in the Monthly Notices of ...

Swarming and transporting

Swarming and transporting
2012-03-26
The orange-colored vehicle begins moving with a quiet whirr. Soon afterwards the next shuttles begin to move, and before long there are dozens of mini-transporters rolling around in the hall. As if by magic, they head for the high-rack storage shelves or spin around their own axis. But the Multishuttle Moves® – is the name given to these driverless transport vehicles – are not performing some robots' ballet. They are moving around in the service of science. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML in Dortmund, Germany, researchers are working to harness ...

Who knew? Fruit flies get kidney stones too, may hold key to treatment for humans

2012-03-26
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Research on kidney stones in fruit flies may hold the key to developing a treatment that could someday stop the formation of kidney stones in humans, a team from Mayo Clinic and the University of Glasgow found. They recently presented their findings at the Genetics Society of America annual meeting. "The kidney tubule of a fruit fly is easy to study because it is transparent and accessible," says physiologist Michael F. Romero, Ph.D., of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He said researchers are now able to see new stones at the moment of formation. "More ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Capturability distinction analysis of continuous and pulsed guidance laws

CHEST expands Bridging Specialties Initiative to include NTM disease and bronchiectasis on World Bronchiectasis Day

Exposure to air pollution may cause heart damage

SwRI, UTSA selected by NASA to test electrolyzer technology aboard parabolic flight

Prebiotics might be a factor in preventing or treating issues caused by low brain GABA

Youngest in class at higher risk of mental health problems

American Heart Association announces new volunteer leaders for 2025-26

Gut microbiota analysis can help catch gestational diabetes

FAU’s Paulina DeVito awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Champions for change – Paid time off initiative just made clinical trials participation easier

Fentanyl detection through packaging

Prof. Eran Meshorer elected to EMBO for pioneering work in epigenetics

New 3D glacier visualizations provide insights into a hotter Earth

Creativity across disciplines

Consequences of low Antarctic sea ice

Hear here: How loudness and acoustic cues help us judge where a speaker is facing

A unique method of rare-earth recycling can strengthen the raw material independence of Europe and America

Epilepsy self-management program shows promise to control seizures, improve mood and quality of life

Fat may play an important role in brain metabolism

New study finds no lasting impact of pandemic pet ownership on human well-being

New insights on genetic damage of some chemotherapies could guide future treatments with less harmful side effects

Gut microbes could protect us from toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Novel modelling links sea ice loss to Antarctic ice shelf calving events

Scientists can tell how fast you're aging from a single brain scan

U.S. uterine cancer incidence and mortality rates expected to significantly increase by 2050

Public take the lead in discovery of new exploding star

What are they vaping? Study reveals alarming surge in adolescent vaping of THC, CBD, and synthetic cannabinoids

ECMWF - delivering forecasts over 10 times faster and cutting energy usage by 1000

Brazilian neuroscientist reveals how viral infections transform the brain through microscopic detective work

Turning social fragmentation into action through discovering relatedness

[Press-News.org] Researchers validate the potential of a protein for the treatment of type 2 diabetes
The study shows that the lack of Mitofusin 2 in mice produces insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, the main causes of diabetes