"Factory" in cells found to prevent insulin abnormalities
Baku, November 12, AZERTAC
An international research group including Japan has discovered a factory-like system in cells that prevents insulin abnormalities, a finding that may help the development of new treatments for diabetes , according to Jiji Press.
The system, which assembles insulin in its correct form and prevents abnormalities of the blood sugar-lowering substance, was found in a structure inside a cell called the endoplasmic reticulum.
The group of researchers from Tohoku University and many other Japanese universities as well as British and South Korean scientists published the finding in the British journal Nature Cell Biology on Tuesday.
Proteins including insulin work properly in their correct forms, but in an abnormal shape they lose their functions or even cause diseases.
Previous studies have found that the endoplasmic reticulum assembles proteins correctly and prevents abnormalities in them. The detailed mechanism was unclear, however.
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