Researchers at IRB Barcelona produce more data on key genes i...( One of the most reliable indicators ...)

One of the most reliable indicators to predict that a person will develop type 2 diabetes is the presence of insulin resistance. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is the hormone responsible for ensuring that glucose reaches several tissues and organs in the body, such as muscles. Insulin resistance is characterized by the lack of tissue response to insulin and is counteracted by a greater production of insulin by the pancreas. When the pancreas does not have the capacity to produce the amount of insulin required for tissues to receive glucose, glucose in blood increases to pathological levels and the individual goes from being insulin-resistant to suffering type 2 diabetes. Although it is unclear what makes people develop insulin resistance, several studies report that resistant subjects show functional alterations in mitochondria. These intracellular organelles are responsible for transforming glucose into energy that the cell will then use to perform several functions. A study performed by the researcher Marc Liesa, a member of Antoni Zorzano's lab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), describes a new control pathway of a gene responsible for mitochrondrial fusion, a process that contributes to the correct function of these organelles. This pathway could therefore be a key component in the development of insulin resistance. The results of this study have been published in the scientific journal PloS One.

Previous studies demonstrated that people resistant to insulin have altered mitochondrial capacity to "generate" energy through a process called oxidative phosphorylation. In a study performed in 2003, two possible main actors were identified, the genes PGC1-beta and PGC1-alpha. These two genes are responsible for regulating the whole cascade of genes and proteins that allow mitochondria to produce energy by means of oxidative phosphorylation. Now, for the first ti
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