A new study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) has uncovered how inflammation contributes to a key feature of diabetes, the body's inability to metabolize glucose, a condition known as insulin resistance.
Surprisingly, the underlying molecular mechanism for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes remains mysterious. Diabetes occurs when the body cannot metabolize glucose properly. Normally, the hormone insulin breaks down glucose. But in some people this process becomes increasingly inefficient, a phenomenon known as insulin resistance. Until now, researchers had not understood how insulin resistance turns into full-blown diabetes, in which the body is unable to metabolize sugar properly.
It appears that a gene called IRAK1 (Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1) plays a key role in this process.
Dr. Sun says that in the future it may be possible to test diabetes patients to see what version of IRAK1 they have. Some people have a more active version of the gene, while others have a less active version. With this test, it may be possible to predict how much insulin resistance might be possible with weight loss or other preventive measures. In addition, in the future he hopes to look for drugs that can inhibit IRAK1 activity.
The findings were published recently in the journal Journal of Biological Chemistry. The study is the first to identify a new molecular link between inflammation and the disease.
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