Scientists Discover Two Genes Linked to Insulin Resistance

Over 20 million Americans currently have diabetes. Those figures are set to skyrocket, with an increase of 165 percent expected by 2050. In a recent press release, researchers announced that they have found 2 genes thought to play an important role in insulin resistance, a precursor to both type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) announced that they have found 2 genes that are involved in something called insulin resistance. This opens the door for more research into the genetic causes, cures, and treatment of, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Scientists determined that 2 genes, NR4A3 and NR4A1, make our muscle tissue more sensitive to insulin. They also found that when an animal had fewer of these genes, they were more prone to have insulin resistance. Conversely, animals that had more of these genes had bodies that were better able to handle insulin and glucose.

"Our findings show that these two proteins help sensitize muscle to insulin, promoting glucose uptake and thus keeping glucose levels within healthy limits. This gives science a new target for diabetes research by suggesting new pathways for drug development that will help boost the presence or activity of NR4A3 and NR4A1," said W. Timothy Garvey, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition Sciences at UAB.

They are hopeful that this will open the door to more genetic research into the causes, cures, and treatment of insulin resistance, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

Insulin resistance is sometimes called "pre-diabetes," since many of the people who have it will later develop diabetes. In a nutshell, all of the food we eat is broken down into a few different chemicals. One of those is glucose, or sugar.

When our bodies make insulin, that insulin lowers the amount of sugar, or glucose, in our blood. Pre-diabetes, or insulin resistance, simply means that our bodies do not use insulin properly.

Type 2 diabetes happens when our bodies do not have an adequate amount of insulin, or when our bodies can no longer handle the sugars we have in our bloodstreams properly.