In both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the root cause is the insufficiency of pancreatic beta cells (the ones that produce insulin) to control blood sugar levels.

What if scientists found out how to control the proliferation of beta-cells? Then that will a great target for the treatment of this epidemic condition.

Such exactly is what a team from the David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles is doing and have in fact identified that the protein Skp2 has a critical role in regulating beta-cell proliferation in mice.

The authors observed that mice lacking Skp2 developed more severe insulin resistance and more overt diabetes after being fed a high-fat diet than normal mice.

This was associated with decreased degradation of p27 in beta-cells, which prevented the cells from proliferating.

The authors therefore suggest that Skp2-mediated p27 degradation in beta-cells might have a role in regulating beta-cell proliferation in response to metabolic needs.

Let's wait and see if the same will be true in humans.

Find more details from the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Source: Science Daily


Photo Credit: Medline Plus