A team of scientists has conducted promising early tests of a new strategy that might one day be used to prevent or treat type 2 diabetes. The scientists tested an experimental compound called IXA4 in obese mice. They showed that the compound activates a natural signaling pathway that protects the animals from harmful, obesity-driven metabolic changes that would normally lead to diabetes.

The scientists, whose results are reported in Nature Communications, tested an experimental compound called IXA4 in obese mice. They showed that the compound activates a natural signaling pathway that protects the animals from harmful, obesity-driven metabolic changes that would normally lead to diabetes.

«We were able to activate this pathway in both the liver and the pancreas with this one compound, and that added up to a significant overall improvement in metabolic health of obese animals,» says Scripps Research’s Luke Wiseman, PhD.

«This is the first time anyone has shown that a small molecule activating this pathway in this manner works to treat disease in a live animal,» adds Enrique Saez, PhD.

The study was a collaboration between the laboratories of Saez and Wiseman, who are both professors in the Department of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research and co-senior authors on the new paper.

Type 2 diabetes remains a major public health problem: about 30 million people are estimated to have it in the U.S. alone. Driven largely by overweight and obesity, it features the loss of normal blood sugar regulation, and brings a multitude of health issues including higher risks of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, nerve damage, retinal degeneration, and some cancers. There are many drugs for treating type 2 diabetes, but none that works well for every patient.

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