Posted on 08/28/2013 1:27:20 PM PDT by neverdem
The same protein tells beta cells in the pancreas to stop making insulin and then to self-destruct as diabetes worsens, according to a University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) study published online today in the journal Nature Medicine.
Specifically, the research revealed that a protein called TXNIP controls the ability of beta cells to make insulin, the hormone that regulates blood-sugar levels.
"We spent years confirming that TXNIP drives beta-cell death in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes," said Anath Shalev, M.D., director of the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center and senior author of the paper. "We were astounded to find that its action also contributes to a second major diabetic mechanism -- the decrease seen in insulin production by beta cells -- by a mechanism never before seen."
During their research, Shalev and colleagues discovered that high TXNIP triggers beta cells to make a specific snippet of genetic material called microRNA-204.
Genetic instructions are encoded in DNA chains and converted into ribonucleic acids (RNA) that direct the building of the proteins that comprise bodily structures and signals. A large portion of human genetic material, however, does not encode proteins and once was considered "junk DNA." RNA snippets called microRNAs are built based on this junk DNA, but instead of converting its messages into proteins, they silence targeted genes. This provides yet another level of regulation and a tool to turn genes on or off.
The study found that microRNA-204, in response to the TXNIP signal, interferes with MAFA, a transcription factor known to turn on the insulin gene. This is not the first instance of a microRNA influencing a transcription factor, but is a first for a factor critical to the expression of the human insulin gene. Taken together, the evidence argues for the existence of a previously unknown...
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
So ... is this bad protein found in beef, pork, chicken or tofu?
It does seem a bit odd that this article doesn’t bother to tell us what foods this “key protein” is found in.
Plant protein regulates diabetes treatment Not ready for prime time, but it could be a future drug delivery system.
FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes ping list.
N.B. Press releases at ScienceDaily usually link the abstract of the original citation after the reference to it with its DOI.
I’m swearing off TXNIP. As of today, I’ll never order it again.
Have you ever had General Tso's chicken without it? It's very bland.
"Specifically, the research revealed that a protein called TXNIP controls the ability of beta cells to make insulin, the hormone that regulates blood-sugar levels."
It sounds like TXNIP is in your pancreas.
Proteins going through your gut are going to be hydrolyzed by digestive enzymes to peptides and amino acids.
Nope. Air is food tho too, so.. This study is deep in the innards of our RNA and microRNA too,, didn’t know we had one... Not sure but I suspect the old adages hold true food wise.
PING
Is TXNIP development tied to ingestion of dihydrogen monoxide?
What living thing doesn't need water?
Another report: TXNIP Protein Pathway Discovery Could Point To Possible Diabetes Treatment
Shalev said that for some people, excessive demand on beta cells to produce insulin to counteract elevated blood sugar -- which is what's seen in type 2 diabetes, which accounts for more than 90 percent of all diabetes -- eventually stresses the beta cells, which then lose their ability to make enough insulin to meet demand. This leads to an increase in blood sugar and greater levels of TXNIP production - a vicious cycle that results in even less insulin production and more beta cell death.
Which makes me think that this may not be a path to a cure. Even if we can learn to keep high blood sugar from killing beta cells, in the face of insulin resistance, high blood sugars are still going to be causing plenty of other problems, and hyperinsulinemia causes lots of problems itself.
Seems to me the $64k question is what causes insulin resistance.
Thanks, very interesting. Thus the road to diabetes starts with having to deal with too much sugar, and enough of this starts a cascade of consequences. Simplest preventative seems to be to cut out the sugar long before the problem becomes apparent. Paleo diet for anyone over 40 it seems.
“Shalev said that for some people, excessive demand on beta cells to produce insulin to counteract elevated blood sugar — which is what’s seen in type 2 diabetes, which accounts for more than 90 percent of all diabetes — eventually stresses the beta cells, which then lose their ability to make enough insulin to meet demand. This leads to an increase in blood sugar and greater levels of TXNIP production – a vicious cycle that results in even less insulin production and more beta cell death.
“Sugars in the diet per se do not cause diabetes, and we have to be cautious not to oversimplify a complex disease such as diabetes,” Shalev told LiveScience.
However, elevated blood sugar levels are known to cause an increase in TXNIP, and over time, even small increases in blood sugar levels can lead to accumulation of TXNIP and the associated beta cell dysfunction and death that can eventually lead to diabetes, she said.”
Too much sugar in the diet in the first place ?
Even if everything is working correctly blood sugar will peak very high (for a while) if one eats the wrong things. A little too much of this and there we are.
Too much sugar in the diet in the first place ?
Is it too much sugar? Or too frequent sugar? Is it any sugar? Or is it fructose in particular?
Inquiring minds want to know.
No idea.
The mechanism seems to be a reaction to high blood sugar. Why when how ? Simple preventative hypothesis seems to be limit sugar. And for that matter starch. No fries with that !
I don’t want to pretend that really I understand what’s going on, but I’ve been trying a cyclical ketogenic diet for the last several months - six days a week of low carb and one day of sometimes very high carb. And over that time my insulin response, as measured by Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, has improved significantly. So in my case, at least, intermittent high-carb days has not caused problems.
To provide some context, I was severely obese when I started with all of the accompanying symptoms of metabolic syndrome. I ate strict low-carb for a six months, lost a great deal of weight, and improvement or elimination of my various insulin-related problems (hypertension, GERD, sleep apnea, acanthosis nigricans, etc.) And over that time my OGTT peak dropped from 177 to 131 mg/dL. Then for six months I engaged in a weight training program, into which I incorporated cyclical high-carb days. After which my OGTT peak was down to 114.
I have no idea how many others might be the same, but for me, at least, I now seem to be able to handle significant quantities of carbs, if they are rare enough, and if there is enough time in between them.
My experience is similar, thanks for your information.
I’ve gone fairly strict paleo and it seems to be working.
Not sugar, or at least, not just sugar. It is carbs, particularly those with a high glycemic index, like French bread.
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