According to researchers, a genetic link between certain psychiatric disorders and type 2 diabetes may exist.
In a study published in The FASEB Journal, researchers showed that a gene known as "DISC1" has an influence on the function of pancreatic beta cells, which are responsible for producing insulin to stabilize blood sugar levels. DISC1 is also believed to have a role in the development of psychiatric disorders like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression, in some forms.
According to study author Rita Bortell, Ph.D., there have been studies before that explored disease biology and found that unanticipated proteins to be involved in disease development. The researchers hope that their discovery will help develop mechanisms that will not just improve therapies, but result in preventive treatment as well. This will alleviate suffering brought about by the illnesses, which can both be debilitating and costly.
For the study, the researchers examined the function of DISC1 by comparing two mice groups, one genetically manipulated to disrupt DISC1 in beta cells in the pancreas and the other kept normal.
Those mice with the disrupted gene experienced an increase in beta cell death, impaired blood sugar regulation and less insulin secretion, while the control mice did not manifest anything extraordinary.
The researchers found that the gene works by controlling the functions of a certain protein called GSK3β, which is crucial to the survival and function of beta cells. By inhibiting the protein, the researchers saw an improvement in beta cell survival and the restoration of normal tolerance for glucose in mice with the disrupted gene.
Changes to DISC1 have been originally linked with an increased risk for schizophrenia, but further research has shown that alterations in the gene are also present in people diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression.
The discovery that psychiatric disorders and diabetes are linked may have been surprising, but researchers have long known that just a single gene or protein can profoundly affect the body in multiple ways, said Thoru Pederson, Ph.D., The FASEB Journal editor-in-chief.
Other authors of the study include: Agata Jurczyk, Dale Greiner, Anetta Nowosielska, David Harlan, Natalia Przewozniak, Ann Rittenhouse, Ken-Edwin Aryee, Leonard Shultz, Philip Dilorio, Mark Atkinson, Chaoxing Yang and Martha Campbell-Thompson.
