Victorian scientists reveal strong evidence for a new
therapeutic target in the fight against Type 2 Diabetes.
Professor Greg Collier, CEO and Managing Director
of the Victorian biotech company, Autogen Limited, announced that the company
has recently discovered a protein in human liver cells that appears to be
intimately related to the development of diabetes. Recent experiments have shown
that the gene, which the researchers have named Tanis, and it's receptor are
markedly increased in diabetes.
However the announcement reveals that - when the
gene is put into human liver cells - the cells develop diabetes. This major
discovery provides a strong model and mechanism for pharmaceutical and
therapeutic intervention in a disease that costs millions of dollars annually to
treat and control.
Autogen researchers have isolated the gene that
produces this protein. A provisional patent has been granted for this gene.
Autogen researchers went on to show a direct
relationship between levels of Beacon in the brain and the probability of
developing increased body weight, indicating the gene may be responsible for
causing obesity. Treating animals with the Beacon protein led directly to the
accumulation of fat, a further sign that the Beacon gene is critical in the
development of obesity.
The protein that is encoded for by the rat
"Beacon" gene is 100% identical to that encoded for by the human "Beacon" gene.
Interestingly, the human "Beacon" gene on chromosome 19 is in a position known
to contain a gene (or genes) linked to energy regulation and body fat mass.
Recent studies on human DNA identified two novel
genetic sequence variations in the beacon gene. Autogen funded researchers in
the International Diabetes Institute and the Southwestern Foundation for
Biomedical Research in San Antonio, Texas, showed that these genetic sequence
variations were strongly associated with percentage body fat, total fat mass and
waist-to-hip ratio, all measures of obesity in humans. These measures are also
important risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and further analysis of the
genetic variations in the human beacon gene found associations with circulating
levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL-("bad")-cholesterol.
Therefore it appears that beacon contributes not only to obesity in humans, but
is also associated with some of the adverse consequences of obesity including
cardiovascular disease.
Autogen Limited works in collaboration with
Deakin University and the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne,
developing one of the world's largest databases of human serum and DNA samples
from isolated population including Tasmanians, Mauritians and Nauruans and
combining this with their unique animal models of disease
Source: Diabetes In Control Dot Com.