(c) UT Southwestern Medical Center
研究を行ったDr. David Mangelsdorf（左）とDr. Steven Kliewer
胆汁酸合成ホルモンFGF19を利用することで，インスリンを使わないI型糖尿病治療が実現するかもしれない。インスリンは肝臓にある炭水化物の調節に重要な役割を果たすが，インスリンとは独立して，食物摂取後にブドウ糖を肝臓に貯蔵し，タンパク質合成を促進する機序があることが明らかになった。この機序に関与するFGF19を，インスリンの欠損により肝臓のグリコーゲン量が減った糖尿病のマウスに投与すると，グリコーゲン量が回復した。治療法としては，FGF19の発現を高める胆汁酸受容体を調節する方法が有望視されている。（吉田素子）
Researchers Find Potential New Non-insulin Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a hormone pathway that potentially could lead to new ways of treating type 1 diabetes independent of insulin, long thought to be the sole regulator of carbohydrates in the liver. Results of this new study will be published March 25 in Science.
Another hormone, fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19), has insulin-like characteristics beyond its role in bile acid synthesis. Unlike insulin, however, FGF19 does not cause excess glucose to turn to fat, suggesting that its activation could lead to new treatments for diabetes or obesity.
“The fundamental discovery is that there is a pathway that exists that is required for the body, after a meal, to store glucose in the liver and drive protein synthesis. That pathway is independent of insulin,” said Dr. David Mangelsdorf, chairman of pharmacology at UT Southwestern.
Naturally elevating this pathway, therefore, could lead to new diabetes treatments outside of insulin therapy. The standard treatment for type 1 diabetes, which affects about 1 million people in the U.S., involves taking insulin multiple times a day to metabolize blood sugar.
Dr. Mangelsdorf and Dr. Steven Kliewer, professor of molecular biology and pharmacology at UT Southwestern, are co-senior authors of the study. Dr. Kliewer has been studying the hormone FGF19 since he discovered its involvement in metabolism about eight years ago.
Fibroblast growth factors control nutrient metabolism and are released upon bile acid uptake into the small intestine. Bile acids, produced by the liver, break down fats in the body.
［単語和訳］
Researchers：研究者 Non-insulin：非インスリンの～ Type 1 diabetes：I型糖尿病
hormone pathway：ホルモン経路 potentially：可能性を秘めた lead to：～につながる independent of：～とは無関係に sole：唯一の regulator：制御因子 carbohydrates：炭水化物 liver：肝臓
fibroblast growth factor：線維芽細胞増殖因子 insulin–like：インスリンの様な bile acid：胆汁酸 synthesis：合成 glucose：グルコース（ブドウ糖） activation：活性化 obesity：肥満
protein：タンパク質 pharmacology：薬理学
elevating：亢進させること therapy：治療 metabolize：代謝する blood sugar：血糖
molecular biology：分子生物学 co-senior authors：共同主席著者 involvement：関与metabolism：代謝
nutrient：栄養素の are released：放出される uptake：取り込み small intestine：小腸 break down：分解する
