Issue 26, December 2010
3.Discovery of a New Mechanism for Controlling Blood Sugar Level
Seen is a picture of CGM done in a patient under treatment at Jothydev's Diabetes & Research Centre. CGM is routinely done at JDC since 2005 which immensely helps in making diabetes treatment decision.
 
    Scientists at the University of Leicester have identified a new mechanism for controlling blood sugar level in our blood following a meal. They have found that a particular protein called M3-muscarinic receptor is helping to maintain near normal blood sugar levels.

    "We found that in order to maintain the correct levels of sugar, a protein present on the cells that release insulin in the pancreas has to be active. This protein, called the M3-muscarinic receptor, is not only active but also needs to undergo a specific change. This change triggers insulin release and the control of blood sugar levels." said the team leader Professor Andrew Tobin, Professor of Cell Biology, who is also a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow.

    "Without the change in the M3-muscarinic receptor protein, sugar levels go up in the same way that we see in diabetes. We are of course testing if the mechanism of controlling sugar levels we have discovered is one of the mechanisms disrupted in diabetes. If this were the case then our studies would have important implications in diabetes." Professor Tobin added.
 
Share/Bookmark
Previous | Home | Next