Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have deciphered the diabetogenic role of a particular type of calcium channel in insulin-secreting beta cells.. Researchers believe that blocking these channels could be a potential new strategy for treating diabetes.. The study was published in the scientific journal PNAS.

CaV3 channels. 1 have a marginal role in healthy beta cells in the endocrine pancreas but become hyperactive along with the occurrence of diabetes. This raises the critical question of whether hyperactivation of these calcium channels is a cause or a consequence of diabetes.. Now, researchers at the Karolinska Institute have found that increased expression of CaV3. 1 leads to excessive calcium influx, disrupting the genomic expression of exocytotic proteins in beta cells.

“This leads to a decrease in the ability of beta cells to secrete insulin and disrupt glucose homeostasis,” explains Dr. Jia Yu, first author of the study and senior researcher at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery at the Karolinska Institute..

Role of CaV3. 1 in the development of diabetes mellitus has been investigated using a number of approaches, including experiments in rats and human pancreatic islets and diabetic rats.. The experimental models used show that the results are applicable to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but more research is needed to confirm this..

“Over a long period of time, the pathological role of CaV3 beta-cell channels. 1 in the development of diabetes mellitus and its complications was ignored. Our work points to the increased expression of these channels as a critical pathogenetic mechanism in diabetes mellitus, which means that cav3. 1 channels should not be ignored in diabetes research,” says Dr. Shao-nian Yang, associate professor of molecular medicine and surgery at the Karolinska Institute and senior author of the study..

The researchers now want to find out if increased CaV3 expression can.

1 also alter transcriptome profiles in other cell types such as vascular smooth muscle cells and immune system T cells to promote diabetes and its complications.

“Selective blockade of CaV3 channels. 1 may have potential as a new treatment strategy based on the mechanism. Clinical trials of CaV3 blockers. 1 channels in diabetic patients will be one of our future research priorities,” says Prof. Per-Olof Berggren, director of the Karolinska Institute’s Rolf Luft Research Center and senior author of the study..

medical-heal. en.