London
Professor Guy Rutter
Imperial College London
£223,220 Project Grant
Control of glucagon secretion by AMPK and related kinases.
October 2011 - October 2014
Project Summary
Professor Rutter has recently shown that islet cells rely on two proteins called AMPK and PASK to release glucagon in response to low blood glucose levels. He now aims to determine how these proteins contribute to this process, which may help in the development of treatments to improve the body’s ability to avoid hypos in Type 1 diabetes and control the over-production of glucagon in Type 2 diabetes.
For the body to keep blood glucose levels within a healthy range, it needs to be able to secrete insulin when glucose levels are high, and release glucagon when levels are low. Normally, the islet cells in the pancreas produce both hormones.
In Type 1 diabetes, however, a loss of islet cells means that the pancreas is unable to produce enough glucagon to raise glucose levels when they are low, contributing to the risk of hypoglycaemia. Conversely, in Type 2 diabetes glucagon is overproduced, which can cause blood glucose levels to become too high, which in the long term increases the risk and severity of diabetes-related complications.
Professor Guy Rutter of Imperial College London has recently shown that islet cells rely on two proteins, AMPK and PASK, to release glucagon in response to low blood glucose levels. Now, Prof Rutter aims to determine how exactly they contribute to this process, which may help in the development treatments to improve the body’s ability to avoid hypos in Type 1 and control the overproduction of glucagon in Type 2.