TIFR, IIT-B find how cells respond to fluctuating doses of insulin

Hyderabad: Researchers from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Hyderabad in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay have found how cells respond to fluctuating doses of the insulin hormone and its importance beyond the commonly associated role in regulating blood sugar or glucose. Researchers from Ullas Kolthur’s group at TIFR, Hyderabad and Ranjith […]

Hyderabad: Researchers from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Hyderabad in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay have found how cells respond to fluctuating doses of the insulin hormone and its importance beyond the commonly associated role in regulating blood sugar or glucose.

Researchers from Ullas Kolthur’s group at TIFR, Hyderabad and Ranjith Padinhateeri’s group at IIT- Bombay said that the findings in the study were important since diabetes and inappropriate interventions lead to tissue damage and cause loss of kidney functions, retinopathy and neuropathy, among others.

The new results not only provide fundamental insights into the actions of insulin during normal feed-fast cycles but also raise the possibility of re-evaluating insulin dosing in the clinical context and in efforts to minimize diabetes associated damage to key organs, the researchers in a press release said.

The TIFR researchers, who are currently engaged in collaborating with clinical scientists to investigate the study in humans and to also potentially evaluate the impact of insulin administration beyond glucose control in diabetic patients, said that the study opens up avenues to explore new treatment regimes that reduce tissue damage in addition to maintaining blood glucose levels in patients.

The research has also revealed how continuous repeat insulin stimulation could lead to resistance with implications in metabolic disorders, aging and age-related diseases. This is relevant in the Indian context since the burden of metabolic diseases, especially of diabetes is high in the population.

In a healthy individual, the levels of insulin rise after a meal and fall during fasting is necessary to supply normal levels of glucose to all the organs in the body. Loss of insulin or its action leads to uncontrolled increase in blood glucose ultimately leading to diabetes, researchers said.

The study also has discovered that very high amounts of insulin inputs break the signalling network and potentially lead to resistance and cause tissue damage as seen in diabetes. This is relevant since modern lifestyles have led to intake of high calorie diets. The break in the signalling following high insulin inputs in the cells can be equated to uncontrolled traffic signals, which cause traffic jams and/or accidents, the researchers added.

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