CLEVELAND, Ohio — The discovery of a brand-new cause for the development of diabetes may also lead to a cure for the condition, a new study explains. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals have identified an enzyme that interferes with the body’s insulin production, offering a new potential target for treating the disease.
Their research sheds light on the role of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide is a versatile compound known for its ability to widen blood vessels, enhance memory, combat infections, and stimulate hormone release. However, the mechanisms behind these functions have remained a mystery until now.
The team identified a unique enzyme, called SNO-CoA-assisted nitrosylase (SCAN), which attaches nitric oxide to proteins, including those involved in insulin response.
Stamler and his team discovered that the SCAN enzyme is crucial for normal insulin functioning. However, they also observed that this enzyme is overly active in both human and mouse diabetic patients. In contrast, mouse models lacking the SCAN enzyme seemed to be resistant to diabetes. This suggests that an excess of nitric oxide attached to proteins could be a trigger for the disease.
“We show that blocking this enzyme protects from diabetes, but the implications extend to many diseases likely caused by novel enzymes that add nitric oxide,” says the study’s lead researcher, Jonathan Stamler, the Robert S. and Sylvia K. Reitman Family Foundation Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Innovation at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, in a media release. “Blocking this enzyme may offer a new treatment.”
The findings are particularly significant as scientists believe many human diseases, including Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart failure, and diabetes, may develop or worsen due to excessive binding of nitric oxide to critical proteins. Until now, targeting nitric oxide has been challenging because of its reactive nature and lack of specificity. Diabetes, a condition where the body fails to respond properly to insulin, leads to elevated blood sugar levels. This can result in serious health issues over time, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that individuals with diabetes are at increased risk of these conditions.
Understanding why insulin becomes ineffective has been a long-standing puzzle in medical research. This new discovery about the SCAN enzyme and its role in attaching nitric oxide to proteins provides a fresh perspective on potential treatment strategies for diabetes and related diseases.
“This paper shows that dedicated enzymes mediate the many effects of nitric oxide,” Stamler concludes. “Here, we discover an enzyme that puts nitric oxide on the insulin receptor to control insulin. Too much enzyme activity causes diabetes. But a case is made for many enzymes putting nitric oxide on many proteins, and, thus, new treatments for many diseases.”
The research was a collaborative effort involving Hualin Zhou and Richard Premont from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and University Hospitals, along with students Zack Grimmett and Nicholas Venetos from the university’s Medical Scientist Training Program.
The findings are published in the journal Cell.
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Would have been nice if the author differentiated between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They are very different.
Agree here. I’m a lifelong Type 1. I’m hoping it was an innocent lack of specification. FYI for the author, Type 1s absorb insulin without issue, we just don’t produce it ourselves because our immune system killed off that function of our pancreas. Would be nice to see the title updated to clarify who this discovery is for.
Came here to say this.