"In an article published in the December 29, 2005, issue of the journal
Cell, the researchers report that knocking out a single gene encoding
the enzyme GnT-4a glycosyltransferase (GnT-4a ) disrupts insulin
production. Importantly, the scientists showed that a high-fat diet
suppresses the activity of GnT-4a and leads to type 2 diabetes due to
failure of the pancreatic beta cells.
"We have discovered a mechanistic explanation for beta cell failure
in response to a high-fat diet and obesity, a molecular trigger which
begins the chain of events leading from hyperglycemia to insulin
resistance and type 2 diabetes," said Jamey Marth, a Howard Hughes
Medical Institute investigator at the University of California, San
Diego (UCSD). Marth and first author Kazuaki Ohtsubo at UCSD
collaborated on the studies with researchers from the Kirin Brewery Co.
Ltd., and the University of Fukui, both in Japan."
Dietary and genetic control of glucose transporter 2 glycosylation promotes insulin secretion in suppressing diabetes.
Ohtsubo K, Takamatsu S, Minowa MT, Yoshida A, Takeuchi M, Marth JD.
Cell. 2005 Dec 29;123(7):1307-21.
PMID: 16377570