A research carried out by a team of experts at the University of Virginia Health System found that a carbohydrate isolated from the liver lowers blood sugar levels after it is injected into diabetic rats.

The UVa team believes this compound, called D-chiro-Inositol-Galactosamine, or INS2, acts as a messenger inside cells to switch on enzymes that regulate blood sugar, taking glucose from the bloodstream into the liver and muscles where it is stored. INS2 is naturally occurring in the body and is found in human blood.

Their findings are published in the journal Biochemistry and could lead to new drugs to treat type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.

“ We believe this molecule works by sending a message inside the cell to respond to insulin, which helps cells dispose of excess glucose,” said Joseph Larner, at Uva.

Larner and his colleagues isolated INS2 from cow livers, determined its chemical structure, synthesized it, then injected the compound into diabetic rats, with blood sugar levels at or above 500 milligrams per deciliter. The rats were then injected with insulin.
Researchers at UVa were pleased that the more compound they injected, the more blood sugar decreased in the animals.

“ This compound is dose dependent and active. It potentiates the action of insulin,” explained David Brautigan, director of the Center for Cell Signaling at UVa.

“ INS2 was added and the purified PP2C enzyme was activated, ” Brautigan said. “ When we changed one amino acid in PP2C that the modeling predicted was the site for INS2, then the activation by INS2 was absent. In that way the enzyme assay confirmed the model.” The UVa group has been working to define the action of INS2.

Source: University of Virginia Health System, 2005


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