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Unmasked enzyme offers hope of effective diabetes treatment
Unmasked enzyme offers hope of effective diabetes
treatment
27 September 2007
Scientists at the Medical Research Council have made a
discovery that could pave the way for better treatments of type II
diabetes. The teams at two MRC institutes (the National Institute
for Medical Research and the Clinical Sciences Centre) have
determined the structure of the enzyme that regulates cellular
energy levels.
They hope their work will lead to new drugs for type II
diabetes, an illness that affects more than two million people in
the UK. It’s not known what causes this type of diabetes, but
obesity and lack of exercise are contributory factors. Diabetes
occurs when the body stops producing or doesn’t properly use
insulin – which is needed to take glucose from the blood and into
cells where it provides energy.
The enzyme the scientists have been studying is called AMPK
(AMP-activated protein kinase). It senses the energy level in the
cell and then changes the balance of energy-producing or
energy-consuming activities appropriately. The scientists used
X-ray crystallography to determine a highly detailed image of what
the molecule looks like. This approach is often key to the
development of new drugs. They believe their discovery will help to
create new therapeutics that will decrease the surplus blood
glucose that people with type II diabetes are unable to
process.
Read this
press release in full on the MRC website
Last Update Date : 7/6/2009
