A team of American researchers has identified an enzyme that blocks the insulin produced in the body, a discovery that could provide a new target for treating diabetes.
The study, published in the journal Cellfocused on nitric oxide, a compound that, among other functions, dilates blood vessels, improves memory, fights infection, and stimulates the release of hormones.
How nitric oxide performs these activities has long been a mystery. Researchers have now discovered a new “carrier” enzyme (called SNO-CoA-assisted nitrosylase, or SCAN) that attaches nitric oxide to proteins, including the receptor for insulin action.
The scientists found that the SCAN enzyme is essential for normal insulin action, but they also observed increased SCAN activity in diabetic patients and diabetic mice.
Rodents without the SCAN enzyme appeared to be protected from diabetes, suggesting that too much nitric oxide on protein may be a cause of the disease.
“Too much activity of the enzyme causes diabetes,” the scientists conclude in the report.
According to the researchers, blocking this enzyme may open the way to a new treatment for diabetes. The next steps could be to develop drugs against this enzyme, say Case Western Reserve University researchers.
Many diseases, including Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart failure and diabetes, are believed to be caused or accelerated by excessive binding of nitric oxide to key proteins.
2023-12-12 22:03:00
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