Knocking Down Levels Of These Proteins Could Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes has affected more than 30 million Americans till date. The condition usually occurs in individuals above the age of 45. But children, teens, and young adults are also developing it these days. Researchers have been finding ways to prevent and reverse the condition.

Researchers at Yale University have come up with a new way to reverse type 2 diabetes. They have identified a couple of proteins that could prevent diabetes when knocked down. According to the study, fasting switches on a certain process in the body in which the proteins TET3 and HNF4a increase in the liver and produces blood glucose. In type 2 diabetes patients, this switch fails to turn off after fasting.

Thus, they hypothesized that knocking down these two proteins could stop diabetes from developing.

In the Study published in cell reports, the researchers injected mice with genetic material called small interfering RNAs packaged inside viruses that target these two proteins. They found that insulin and blood glucose levels dropped significantly.

They also discovered that TET3 contributed to the development of liver fibrosis. They discovered that the protein TET3 plays a vital role in the fibrosis signaling pathway in three different locations acting as an important regulator in the development of liver fibrosis.

The findings of the study pave the way for opportunities in developing drugs that inhibit TET3 to slow or reverse fibrosis. Although liver fibrosis and type 2 diabetes are common conditions, there are very few treatment options currently.

Diabetes can lead to several other health conditions including stroke, kidney diseases, and heart diseases. Whereas liver fibrosis can lead to cirrhosis, which is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, according to the experts at Yale Liver Center.

Although there are drugs including metformin to control blood sugar levels in diabetic patients, they are subjected to a wide range of unpleasant side effects and moreover, patients consuming them can develop resistance to them.

“While much is known about the role of TETs in development, stem cells, and cancer, little is known about their role in energy metabolism. In the current study we report an unexpected finding of P2 promoter reactivation in the adult liver by TET3 with an essential role in the control of hepatic glucose production (HGP),” said the researchers.