Without enough insulin, diabetics could be at risk for
hyperglycemia
A drug used for the treatment of pancreatic cancer can
be repurposed to replace insulin therapy among people with diabetes, scientists
have found.
Without
enough insulin, diabetics could be at risk for hyperglycemia, or high blood
sugar that can damage blood vessels and organs as well as cause heart attacks,
strokes, and other serious complications.
The study, published in the journal Nature
Communications, suggested that Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) inhibitors, known to
reduce tumour burden in pancreatic cancer, could be a new avenue as a
replacement for insulin therapy in diabetic patients.In an experiment in mice that started in 2016, the
team from the University of Pittsburgh deleted one of two copies of the gene
encoding an enzyme called FAK.Both the pancreas as well as a cluster of cells in the organ looked weird.
While the pancreas looked “like it was trying to regenerate after an injury”,
the cells were “expressing both insulin and amylase”.The
cluster of cells looked like a combination of acinar cells—that manufacture
amylase, a digestive enzyme, and beta-cells—which produce the blood
sugar-regulating hormone insulin.“There
were three possible explanations for what we saw in the mutant mice,” said
Esni. “It could have just been an artefact of our experiment, beta cells could
have started making amylase or acinar cells could have started producing
insulin—which would be the holy grail.”The team further showed that a “FAK-inhibiting drug, which has been studied in
cancer treatment, converted acinar cells into acinar-derived insulin-producing
cells and helped regulate blood glucose in diabetic mice and a single non-human
primate”.https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/repurposed-cancer-drug-to-help-replace-insulin-therapy-for-diabetes-618861
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