A new study conducted by the researchers of Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, has found that calcium channel in pancreatic beta cells that secrete insulin plays an important role in the development of diabetes.
The researchers opine that blocking the calcium channel could pave the way to a potential new treatment regimen for patients with diabetes.
The study was published in a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal called Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The calcium channel called “CaV3.1” has a pivotal role in healthy beta cells; however, they become hyperactive with the occurrence of diabetes, raising a crucial question of whether the hyper-activation of this calcium channel is a cause of diabetes.
The researchers discovered that increased expression of CaV3.1 causes excessive calcium influx. This impairs the genomic expression of exocytotic proteins in the pancreatic beta cells.
Senior study author Dr. Jia Yu said, “This leads to a reduced insulin-secretion capacity of beta cells and aberrant glucose homeostasis.”
The study was conducted on diabetic rats and human pancreatic islets, suggesting that the findings applied to both type 1 and 2 diabetes. However, more studies are needed to verify the exact link.
Another senior study author Dr. Shao-Nian Yang said, “Over a long period of time, the pathological role of beta-cell CaV3.1 channels in the development of diabetes and its complications has been neglected.”
“Our work pinpoints an increased expression of these channels as a critical pathogenic mechanism in diabetes, meaning that CaV3.1 channels should not be neglected in diabetes research,” Dr. Yang added. Another study author Prof. Per-Olof Berggren said, “The selective blockade of CaV3.1 channels may have potential as a new mechanism-based treatment strategy. Clinical trials with CaV3.1 channel blockers in patients with diabetes will be one of our future study priorities.”
