New discoveries in diabetes

[NEWS 21 June 2011] A new signal pathway that renders the insulin-releasing beta cell more sensitive to high levels of blood glucose has been discovered by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. A second new study reveals a possible way to delay the disease by inhibiting a lipoprotein. A new joint study published and conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery and their American colleagues provides new insights into how beta cells react to raised concentrations of blood sugar, which occur, for example, after a meal. The study focuses on acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter in beta cell function. Although the substance is released by neurons in mice, the human mechanism is unclear. These new results show that acetylcholine in the human pancreas is produced by alpha cells, which also produce glucagon, the hormone that raises blood sugar levels. "The fact that acetylcholine has a central part to play in the effective secretion of insulin in response to an increase in blood sugar levels and that we now understand how this substance is released by the human pancreas makes this signal pathway very interesting from a treatment perspective," says principal investigator Professor Per-Olof Berggren.