Cells within the pancreas produce the hormones insulin and glucagon, which have opposing actions on blood glucose. Insulin decreases blood glucose levels by promoting the utilization and storage of glucose while simultaneously repressing glucagon secretion. Glucagon opposes these actions, stimulating glucose production by the liver. In type 1 diabetes, where the insulin-producing cells are destroyed, glucagon levels remain perpetually elevated. The increase in glucagon is an important—but underappreciated—contributor to diabetes and its complications.
University of Utah Health investigator William Holland, PhD, and colleagues found that blocking glucagon action in mice restored levels of both insulin and glucose, effectively curing type 1 diabetes. Their groundbreaking work, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that suppressing glucagon production or action may be a viable means of treating type 1 diabetes.
References:
Glucagon blockade restores functional β-cell mass in type 1 diabetic mice and enhances function of human islets. Wang MY, Dean ED, Quittner-Strom E, Zhu Y, Chowdhury KH, Zhang Z, Zhao S, Li N, Ye R, Lee Y, Zhang Y, Chen S, Yu X, Leonard DC, Poffenberger G, Von Deylen A, McCorkle SK, Schlegel A, Sloop KW, Efanov AM, Gimeno RE, Scherer PE, Powers AC, Unger RH, Holland WL. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2021 Mar 2;118(9):e2022142118.
Press Releases and Media:
University of Utah Health: “Experimental Treatment Subdues Type 1 Diabetes in Laboratory Mice“
