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A European research team has found a molecule, CXCL5, which makes obese people develop diabetes.
Many overweight or obese people develop insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes at some phase in their lives. Now, a new research has revealed that obese people have large amounts of the molecule CXCL5, produced by certain cells in fatty tissue.
The biomedical community has known for many years that substances produced by fatty tissue are accountable for the association between diabetes and obesity.
"Chronic inflammation of the adipose tissue, which is characteristic of obese people, is a crucial stage in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes", Lluis Fajas, lead author of the research and a researcher at the Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) in France, said.
The outcome of this new research shows that serum levels of a chemokine molecule called CXCL5, produced by certain adipose tissue cells, emerge at much high levels in the tissues of obese people than in those of individuals with normal weight.
This has helped Lluis Fajas's study team to come to a conclusion that is biomedically pertinent, "The CXCL5 molecule helps cause insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes".
The most vital part of this research is the discovery that an experimental treatment intended at restraining the action of CXCL5 can help to protect obese mice from developing type 2 diabetes.
"If these studies can be confirmed in humans, this treatment would represent a fundamental improvement in the quality of life of obese individuals", the researcher said.
The finding has been published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
