Diabetes is one of the most common metabolic diseases affecting over 25 million Americans and 2 million Canadians. It's associated with a multitude of complications leading to considerable morbidity and a major medical as well as financial burden on society.
One of the major defects in diabetes is the loss of beta cells in the pancreatic islet. Wang and colleagues, including Zhi Chao Feng, a PhD candidate and first author on the paper, developed a transgenic mouse model (c-Kit Wv) which overexpressed c-Kit, specifically in beta cells. "When c-Kit is overexpressed, we observed a significant improvement in beta cell function and survival," says Wang, a Professor in the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, and Medicine at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. "You can even rescue c-Kit mutant mice from the early onset of diabetes, and protect against high-fat diet-induced beta cell defects. This is a novel finding and is being reported for the first time."
Wang believes ongoing research into c-Kit and its underlying mechanisms, will pave the way to develop strategies to preserve and restore function to beta cells as a cure for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Source: Eurekalert
