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pte20201106043 Medicine / Wellness, Research / Development
Scientific research in the United States shows: insulin is at a dead end
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Blood glucose measurement: type 2 diabetes is not uncommon (Photo: pixabay.com, S. Buissinne) |
Indianapolis (pte043 / 11/6/2020 / 1:44 PM) – According to a study conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine http://medicine.iu.edu, insulin is in an evolutionary impasse. This limits its ability to adapt to obesity and makes most people prone to type 2 diabetes. The insulin sequence is stuck on the verge of reduced production, an inherent vulnerability exposed in childhood by rare mutations of the insulin genes that cause diabetes.
Pandemic disease
In the study, the researchers used biophysical concepts and methods to relate protein chemistry to the emerging research area of evolutionary medicine. Insulin is produced by a series of very specific processes that occur with beta cells in specialized cells. One step is the folding of a biosynthetic precursor, proinsulin. This creates the functional 3D structure of the hormone. Previous studies have suggested that the altered biosynthesis could be the result of various mutations that hinder the foldability of proinsulin.
The current study examined whether the evolution of insulin in vertebrates, including humans, has reached a block. The question is whether a complex series of steps produced constraints that froze the insulin sequence from the abyss of deployability. If so, humanity could be susceptible to type 2 diabetes as a pandemic disease of civilization, the researchers say. According to the results published in “PNAS”, the answer to both questions is “yes”. According to lead researcher Michael Weiss, biological processes normally develop in such a way that they are stable. In most cases they protect against birth defects and disease. “Diabetes appears to be an exception”.
Insulin mutation studied
The team studied a subtle mutation in human insulin related to insulin in other animals such as cows and porcupines. Mutated human insulin functions within the range of natural variations in insulin in animals. Even so, this mutation was excluded from evolution. The answer to this apparent paradox is that the forbidden mutation selectively blocks the folding of proinsulin and puts stress on the beta cells.
Scientists also found that even the slightest deviation in the insulin sequencing process not only affects the folding and thus ultimately also the secretion of insulin, but also leads to cellular stress, which in turn leads to beta cell dysfunction and hence to permanent damage. Consequence. Researchers from the University of Michigan http://umich.edu and Case Western Reserve University http://case.edu also participated in the study.
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