This work, published in the journal Science Advances, reveals in other words, a breakdown in molecular communication in diabetic patients:
their mitochondria lose track of time.
While almost all cells regulate their biological processes over a 24-hour period, or circadian rhythm, through a body clock that turns different genes on and off throughout the day and night cycle, in people with diabetes, some clocks break down. If the association between a disruption of the biological clock (night work, shift work, etc.) is already associated with an increased risk of metabolic disorders – including diabetes – how does the biological clock of people with type diabetes 2 differs from that of healthy people? The study helps to answer this point which remained poorly understood.
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The skeletal muscle of diabetics follows a unique circadian rhythm
The Danish team shows that the skeletal muscle of people with type 2 diabetes follows a different circadian rhythm: the scientists here compare skeletal muscle cells from participants with type 2 diabetes and measure the activity of genes exhibiting a cyclical behavior. over 2 days, then finally compare this activity to that of healthy control genes. This analysis reveals that:
- cells of diabetic participants have fewer genes with cyclic behavior;
- other experiments carried out in vitro and on mice, show that the communication between mitochondria and molecules that regulate time in our cells is disrupted in people with type 2 diabetes;
- the difference in circadian rhythm in people with diabetes appears to be caused by a breakdown in communication between the clock proteins and the mitochondria or energy mini-stations of the cells – which allow their activity.
What implications? Adapting the schedule of interventions (drugs) to treat type 2 diabetes would optimize their effectiveness, explains one of the lead authors, Prof. Juleen R. Zierath of the Karolinska Institutet (and the Novo Nordisk Foundation):
“Diabetes treatments can be more effective if they are synchronized with the body clock. Exercise and diet are regularly used therapeutic interventions for people with type 2 diabetes, and both treatments can affect the clock genes and mitochondria ”.
In practice, respecting the biological clock is an even more sensitive lifestyle factor in the case of diabetes and in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
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