There may be a genetic connection between some
mental health disorders and type 2 diabetes:
prevalent protein found in schizophrenia also plays
a direct role in the function of pancreatic beta
cells, which produce insulin to maintain blood sugar
levels.
In a new report appearing in the February 2016 issue
of The FASEB Journal, scientists show that a gene
called DISC1 which is believed to play a role in
mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder and some forms of depression,
influences the function of pancreatic beta cells
which produce insulin to maintain normal blood
glucose levels.
"Studies exploring the biology of disease have
increasingly identified the involvement of
unanticipated proteins--DISC1 fits this category,"
said Rita Bortell, Ph.D., a researcher involved in
the work from the Diabetes Center of Excellence at
the Universityof Massachusetts Medical School in
Worcester, Massachusetts. "Our hope is that the
association we've found linking disrupted DISC1 to
both diabetes and psychiatric disorders may uncover
mechanisms to improve therapies, even preventative
ones, to alleviate suffering caused by both
illnesses which are extraordinarily costly, very
common, often quite debilitating."
To make their discovery, Bortell and colleagues
studied the function of DISC1 by comparing two
groups of mice. The first group was genetically
manipulated to disrupt the DISC1 gene only in the
mouse's pancreatic beta cells. The second group of
mice was normal.
The mice with disrupted DISC1 gene showed increased
beta cell death, less insulin secretion and impaired
glucose regulation while control mice were normal.
The researchers found that DISC1 works by
controlling the activity of a specific protein
(GSK3β) already known to be critical for beta cell
function and survival. Inhibition of GSK3β resulted
in improved beta cell survival and restored normal
glucose tolerance in mice with disrupted DISC1.
Alterations in the DISC1 gene were originally
associated with increased risk of schizophrenia, but
further studies have also found DISC1 alterations in
individuals with bipolar disorder and major
depression.
"The connections between these disorders may be
surprising, but we have known for a long time that a
single protein or gene can play multiple roles in
the body," said Thoru Pederson, Ph.D.,
Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal.
For more information
Beyond the brain: disrupted in schizophrenia 1
regulates pancreatic β-cell function via glycogen
synthase kinase-3β
Agata Jurczyk, Anetta Nowosielska, Natalia
Przewozniak, Ken-Edwin Aryee, Philip DiIorio,1,
David Blodgett, Chaoxing Yang, Martha
Campbell-Thompson, Mark Atkinson, Leonard Shultz,
Ann Rittenhouse, David Harlan, Dale Greiner and Rita
Bortell
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