Saturday, 30 January, 2021 - 08:00
FILE - In this April 18, 2017 file photo, a woman with Type 2 diabetes prepares to inject herself with insulin at her home in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher). Cairo - Hazem Badr
A hundred years ago, scientist Frederick Banting made the discovery of the life-saving insulin drug, and won a Nobel Prize for his achievement in 1923. Since then, insulin has become the only treatment for diabetes symptoms, but not diabetes itself.
Now, a research team from the Technical University of Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research claims it has identified a drug target that can block the function of an inceptor, and lead to an increased sensitization of the insulin signaling pathway in pancreatic beta cells. This drug could help treat diabetes. The study was published in the journal Nature on January 27.
Study uncovers a novel promising target for diabetes treatment
Researchers have discovered a novel and druggable insulin inhibitory receptor, named inceptor. The latest study from Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, the Technical University of Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research is a significant milestone for diabetes research as the scientific community celebrates 100 years of insulin and 50 years of insulin receptor discovery.
The blocking of inceptor function leads to an increased sensitization of the insulin signaling pathway in pancreatic beta cells. This might allow protection and regeneration of beta cells for diabetes remission.
Diabetes mellitus is a complex disease characterized by the loss or dysfunction of insulin-producing beta cells in the islets of Langerhans, a specialist micro-organ in the pancreas that controls systemic blood sugar levels. Diabetes complications, such as chronic high blood sugar, systemic metabolic failure and, in the long-term, multi-or