Researchers in the US have found that targeting old or senescent cells in the fat tissue of obese mice can alleviate diabetes – a result they hope could lead to new ways to treat the condition in people.
The findings by University of Connecticut scientists may be of particular interest in the UAE given the high frequency of diabetes in the population.
Almost one in five of the population in the Emirates has the condition, which can lead to serious complications involving the heart, eyes and kidneys.
In their study, the scientists looked at the role that senescent or “zombie” cells play in Type 2 diabetes, the form associated with lifestyle factors such as being overweight or inactive.
This may be one way of remedying this inflammatory disorder and rectifying diabetes. It’s an interesting idea
Finbarr O’Harte,
Ulster University
With Type 2 diabetes, the level of glucose in the blood can become too high because of insulin resistance, where cells in the body do not respond as they should to the hormone insulin.
Senescent cells in body fat may play a role in this, because the study found that clearing them out could combat diabetes in the mice, achieving what the university described as “a dramatic result”.
Published in the journal Cell Metabolism, the study reported that two drugs, dasatinib and quercetin, could kill senescent cells from human fat tissue grown in the laboratory.
Also, when the human fat cells were transplanted into mice, they caused diabetes in the creatures but the same two drugs could stop this.
“These drugs can make human fat healthy and that could be great,” Dr Ming Xu, an assistant professor involved in the work, said in a statement.
“The results were very impressive and cleared the route for potential clinical trials.”
The university researchers and their co-authors from a medical centre, the Mayo Clinic, aim to hold clinical trials to see if the two drugs can alleviate Type 2 diabetes in people.
“Although these preclinical results were very promising, large-scale clinical trials are absolutely critical to examine the efficacy and safety of these drugs in humans before clinical use,” said Dr Xu.
A substance called p21, found in high levels in the senescent cells, may be important in the processes the scientists studied. When the researchers removed cells expressing high levels of p21 each month from obese mice, diabetes was alleviated.
Finbarr O’Harte, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism at Ulster University in Northern Ireland, who is not connected to the study, said the research “certainly seems like an interesting prospect”.
“In diabetes and obesity you have long-term inflammatory disorders in the fat tissue,” he said.
“This may be one way of remedying this inflammatory disorder and rectifying diabetes. It’s an interesting idea.”
He said that mice have been “used widely” as models for diabetes although it is uncertain if a result with them will translate into people.
“It’s never a given that because it works on a mouse it will work on a human,” he said.
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
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A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
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Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
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Lowest Test scores
26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
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30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
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Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
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Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
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Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
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Pogba 80'
The specs
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
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