(Medical Xpress)—Flinders University researchers are breaking new ground in a very decade-long journey to assess the function of two closely related proteins.
They now have data that reveals a task for these proteins within regulating cell metabolism. Disturbances in metabolism underlie a number of human diseases including type 2 diabetes, obesity along with cancer.
The team, led by Associate Professor Catherine Abbott through the School of Biological Sciences, has discovered that a pair of proteins called dipeptidyl peptidases (DP) 8 and 9 play a role in regulating at least 29 other proteins, the majority of which play important projects in metabolism and electricity production.
As a method to control blood glucose degrees, people with type 2 diabetes that do not respond to the drug metformin are made januvia or sitagliptin, a good drug to supress dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DP4), which belongs to the same family of health proteins as DP 8 in addition to 9.
However, Associate Professor Abbott said that whenever tested at high dosages these drugs also inhibited DP 8 together with 9.
She said more research was now needed to look for the exact role of DP 8 in addition to 9 because "we don't know whether they have a good effect on metabolism and energy and managing blood sugar levels or a negative effect".
"Pharmaceutical companies claim their drugs are selective and don't bind to other proteins but also from high doses there's the possibility they could, " stated Associate Professor Abbott.
"What we should find out, and what this study suggests, is that if such drugs do block DP 8 and 9 it'd not necessarily be a nasty thing because DP 8 and 9 may be targets in the treatment method of diabetes, " this girl said.
"On the additional hand, blocking them might affect metabolism and energy with an adverse way, which tend to make the DP4 inhibitors hazardous. "
The research has just been published within the international Journal of Biological Chemistry as "Paper of the Week".
Only 50 to 100 forms are chosen as Paper of the Week from more when compared to 6000 manuscripts published inside journal each year, based on their significance and overall importance to your understanding of biological processes with a molecular and cellular level.
Associate Professor Abbott, who discovered DP 8 and 9 a lot more than 10 years ago, said the proteins and additionally DP4 may also may play a role in tumour growth, therefore a better understanding of their function may possibly also led to increased confidence inside safety of DP4 inhibitors or in a very new use for inhibitors being a cancer therapy.
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