The Role Of Proteins In Overall Health

A recent study conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine at St

. Louis has identified a particular protein that regulates sensitivity to insulin. Insulin is the hormone that controls the ability of cells to utilize blood sugar as well as control blood sugar levels.

These new findings can help scientists to find better treatments for adult onset diabetes or type 2 diabetes, obesity and other complications arising from the body's inability to control blood sugar levels. The research was published in the online publication PLoS ONE last February 13.

Individuals suffering from Type2 diabetes have become resistant to insulin. The gene that activates this issue is known as TBC1D3, which when absent shuts down the insulin pathway to fat and muscle cells. With this protein, cells are able to metabolize insulin and these proteins are found only in humans and a few other primates.

According to Philip Stahl, PhD and Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology, "When cells made more of the TBC1D3 protein, they had a much bigger response to insulin. We found that TBC1D3 significantly slows the deactivation of a molecule that relays signals from the insulin receptor. This enhances the cells' response to insulin."

The research team studied G proteins that help convert signals from hormones such as insulin into specific activity within cells. The focus lead to the TBC1D3 because this specific protein binds with some other G proteins. This new study indicated that increased levels of TBC1D3 impeded the feedback loop that deactivates the insulin signal system in the cell from receptors located on the membrane.

He added, "There are quite a few regulatory pathways like this in biology. To make sure the signal doesn't stay on indefinitely, there are factors built into the signaling pathway that reach back to the origin of the signal and attempt to shut it off." The more active TBC1D3 proteins allowed the longer time frame for the signaling pathway to remain open.

What the research team did was track the effects of the TBC1D3 to a cluster of proteins that control functions of some cells, such as nutrient intake, cellular growth and proliferation. It was also found that TBC1D3 signals a protein called PP2A, which was also found in another study to affect aging. They also researched the factors that affect the activity of TBC1D3, such as the number of copies of the gene in a persons DNA.

TBC1D3 is one of the most duplicated genetic sequences in a human, with as much as between five and fifty times more than an individual's full DNA. The next step would be comparing cells with the copies of the gene to others with fewer copies to see if the volume is linked to the sensitivity to insulin.

by: Bobby Castro

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