Protein reveals the secret of insulin resistance in diabetic patients
Amman3 min read
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Researchers in the United States have found that the Miro1 protein, one of the proteins associated with the outer mitochondrial membrane, plays an important role in the development of insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes, a discovery that may open new horizons for developing treatments targeting this metabolic disorder.
According to the media office of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC), understanding the mechanisms controlled by this protein may help scientists devise new therapeutic methods to improve cellular response to insulin.
John Kirwan, the research team leader at the center, stated that increased muscle resistance to insulin is one of the main mechanisms associated with the development of type 2 diabetes, noting that laboratory experiments and patient monitoring have shown a link between the accumulation of the Miro1 protein in muscle cells and a decline in the sensitivity of these cells to insulin, while physical exercise helps reduce its levels.
This discovery came during a study on the effect of type 2 diabetes on the structure and function of mitochondria, the organelles responsible for energy production within cells. Previous studies have shown that this disease is associated with a decrease in mitochondrial size and changes in their internal structure, as well as disorders affecting their functional efficiency.
To understand these changes more deeply, researchers collected muscle cell samples from people with type 2 diabetes and monitored the changes that occur in mitochondria in mouse muscles during the progression of the disease.
The results showed that increased muscle cell resistance to insulin is accompanied by an increase in the concentration of the Miro1 protein on the outer mitochondrial membrane. This is linked to high glucose levels, which may hinder the transport of AKT family proteins within cells, which are proteins that contribute to regulating Miro1 levels and disposing of excess amounts of it.
This disorder leads to the accumulation of the protein, which is linked to regulating cellular sensitivity to insulin and glucose utilization processes in muscles.
Scientists also tested the effect of disrupting the gene responsible for producing Miro1 on the metabolism of mice, in addition to studying the effect of physical activity on its levels. Experiments showed that disrupting the production of the protein helped limit the development of insulin resistance in rodents, and exercise was also linked to a decrease in its concentration in muscle cells.
Researchers believe that these results may pave the way for developing new therapeutic strategies aimed at improving cellular sensitivity to insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, more studies are still needed to determine the extent to which these mechanisms can be utilized in developing safe and effective treatments for humans.
