The presence of a protein expressed by the liver which inhibits insulin action may identify individuals more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a new study led by a researcher from the UCSD School of Medicine, to be published July 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers led by Joachim H. Ix, M.D., M.A.S., assistant professor in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension and the Division of Preventive Medicine at UC San Diego and at the San Diego Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, found that higher serum levels of a protein called fetuin-A, produced by liver cells, was associated with type 2 diabetes in humans, independent of other risk factors.
"Higher fetuin-A was associated with a 1.7-fold increased risk of diabetes, when adjusted for other factors," said Ix. Despite compelling laboratory and animal data of the protein's role in insulin resistance, until now the association of fetuin-A with new development of type 2 diabetes had not been evaluated in humans, according to Ix. "On the basis of this study, fetuin-A might be considered as a novel therapeutic target for prevention or treatment of insulin resistance,' he said.
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance that has become a global epidemic. The increased prevalence of obesity is a major contributing factor; however diabetes does not develop in all obese individuals, and reasons why one individual develops type 2 diabetes while another dose not are largely unknown.