The American Diabetes Association (ADA) research program recently awarded $1.3 million to diabetes researchers Lily Q. Dong, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of cellular and structural biology, and Nicolas Musi, M.D., assistant professor in the department of medicine.
Dr. Dong received a Career Development Award in the amount of $902,449 for a study of type 2 diabetes, non-insulin action. This award will allow Dr. Dong to study insulin resistance, which is a primary contributing factor in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.
A hormone known as adiponectin is secreted by fat tissue and released into the bloodstream. The hormone can enhance insulin sensitivity and allow efficient breakdown and use of glucose. Therefore, adiponectin plays a protective role in preventing insulin resistance and has the potential to be used therapeutically for type 2 diabetes treatment.
Recently, Dr. Dong discovered that APPL1, an intracellular signaling protein, binds to one of the adiponectin receptors found on muscle cells, an important site of insulin action. Determining how adiponectin mediates its effects on fat and glucose metabolism and how it improves insulin sensitivity could aid in the development of new insulin-sensitizing drugs for the prevention and treatment of diabetes.
Dr. Musi received a Junior Faculty Award in the amount of $398,698 for his study titled “Molecular mechanisms of inflammation-associated skeletal muscle insulin resistance in Mexican Americans with type 2 diabetes.” This award will support Dr. Musi’s investigation of the cause of insulin resistance. The abnormal elevation of glucose levels typically seen in type 2 diabetes is due, in large extent, to the fact that the skeletal muscle of people with this disease is characteristically resistant to the actions of insulin.
Understanding the cellular abnormalities responsible for the insulin resistance in skeletal muscle is fundamental for the design of new ways to prevent and more efficiently treat type 2 diabetes. Studies suggest that a cellular pathway, called the IKK/IkB/NF-kB cascade, is implicated in the development of insulin resistance. It is not known whether this cellular cascade is actually involved in the development of insulin resistance in the skeletal muscle of people who suffer from type 2 diabetes. The goal of this study is to examine if subjects with type 2 diabetes have abnormal function of the IKK/IkB/NF-kB cascade in the skeletal muscle.
More than 18 million Americans have diabetes and 1.3 million are newly diagnosed each year. Diabetes is the nation’s fifth deadliest disease, killing more than 213,000 people annually. A major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, diabetes also is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations.
