US researchers at University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, say that mitochondrial damage causes people with type 2 diabetes to lose insulin-producing cells, a finding that could lead to new treatments.
Mitochondria provide energy for cellular activity.
The researchers found that when insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas can’t respond to circulating insulin, it triggers a “molecular cascade” that damages the normal action of a certain molecular receptor on the surface of the mitochondria. The damaged mitochondria then begin to destroy adenosine triphosphate, the prime fuel for cellular activity. As a result, the beta cells die.
The researchers plan to look for proteins that may offer potential targets for drug treatment to prevent this kind of beta cell death.
The study was published online Nov. 24 in the journal PLoS One.
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