Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance. While the pancreatic islets still make insulin, the hormone doesn’t work as well. Cells sense insulin through receptors, which become less effective in this type of diabetes.
Stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive decline and polycystic ovary syndrome are among the other diseases that have been linked to insulin resistance.
The La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology and Sanford Burnham Medical Discovery Institute hold a pending patent on the discovery.
The researchers were funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/biotech/sd-me-diabetes-reversal-20170327-story.html
The study was published Monday in Nature Chemical Biology. It can be found at j.mp/diabetestyr. Bottini was senior author. Stephanie M. Stanford, also of the La Jolla Institute and UCSD, was first author.
The drug inhibits an enzyme called a low-molecular-weight protein tyrosine phosphatase, or LMPTP. It’s part of a family of enzymes that inactivates the insulin receptor. By inhibiting this particular enzyme in the liver, insulin receptor effectiveness was restored.
“Our findings suggest that LMPTP activity plays a key role in the development of insulin resistance and that LMPTP inhibitors would be beneficial for treating type 2 diabetes,” the study stated.
