Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Treated With Novel Class of Compounds
Published:14 Feb.2022 Source:Washington University School of Medicine
The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. Testing one of the compounds referred to as SN-401, the researchers found it treats diabetes by improving the ability of the pancreas to secrete insulin and boosting the ability of other tissues to utilize that insulin to more effectively remove sugar from the bloodstream. In an effort to optimize the treatment, the researchers fine-tuned the compound -- creating a class of related compounds -- based on their studies of a key protein called SWELL1 (also LRRC8a). The gradual decline of this protein may have a central role in the development of diabetes and other aspects of metabolic syndrome.
“Our goal is to develop better therapies for cardiovascular disease, including diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which are major risk factors for worsening heart and vascular problems,” said senior author Rajan Sah, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine. “We have many treatments for diabetes, but even with those therapies, cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death among patients with type 2 diabetes. There is a need for new treatments that work differently from the current standard-of-care therapies.”