Over 3 million Americans have glaucoma, the group of eye diseases that damage the nerve that carries information from the eye to the brain. This damage slowly degrades patients’ vision, even with treatment. Current glaucoma drugs lower the pressure in the eye, which lessens the injury to the nerve, although it is not eliminated. Finding ways to protect the optic nerve could lead to treatments that are much more effective in preserving or restoring sight in glaucoma patients. Continue reading “Research points to new way to prevent optic nerve degeneration in glaucoma”
Tag: Randal Kaufman
Randal Kaufman among world’s most influential biologists
Thomson Reuters has announced the world’s most influential scientific minds, and for the second time since 2014, Randal Kaufman, Ph. D., professor and director of SBP’s Degenerative Disease Program, is on that list. Thomson Reuters created the list based on scientists who write the most reports that rank among the top 1 percent cited by other scientists between the years 2003 and 2013. Analysts looked at more than 120,000 papers and recognized close to 3000 scientists.
Continue reading “Randal Kaufman among world’s most influential biologists”
Antioxidant-rich diet could help stave off type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes affects about 8% of all adults and is a leading cause of death worldwide. Despite its prevalence, relatively little is known about underlying molecular causes of the disease. SBP researchers now show that defects in a major cell stress pathway play a key role in the failure of pancreatic beta cells, leading to signs of diabetes in mice. The findings, published recently in PLOS Biology, also suggest that a diet rich in antioxidants could help to prevent or treat type 2 diabetes.
“The findings open new therapeutic options to preserve beta cell function and treat diabetes,” said senior study author Randal Kaufman, PhD, director of the Degenerative Diseases Program at SBP. “Because the same cell stress response is implicated in a broad range of diseases, our findings suggest that antioxidant treatment may be a promising therapeutic approach not only for metabolic disease, but also neurodegenerative diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cancer.”
Excess cell stress
Type 2 diabetes is caused by the failure of pancreatic beta cells to produce enough insulin—a hormone that helps to move a blood sugar called glucose into cells to be stored for energy. A major cause of type 2 diabetes is obesity, which can lead to abnormalities in insulin signaling and high blood glucose levels. Beta cells try to compensate by producing up to 10 times the usual amount of insulin, but this puts extra stress on a cell structure called the endoplasmic reticulum to properly fold, process, and secrete the hormone.
An increase in protein synthesis in beta cells also causes oxidative stress—a process that can lead to cell damage and death through the build-up of toxic molecules called reactive oxygen species. If the stress is too great, the beta cells will eventually fail. Approximately one-third of individuals with abnormal insulin signaling eventually develop beta cell failure and diabetes.
In the new study, Kaufman and his collaborators discovered that beta cell failure is caused by deficiency in a protein called IRE1α, which would otherwise help to protect cells against the stress of increased insulin production. Mice that lacked IRE1α in pancreatic beta cells did not produce enough insulin and developed high blood glucose levels, similar to patients with type 2 diabetes. IRE1α deficiency also caused inflammation and oxidative stress, which was the primary cause of beta cell failure. But treatment with antioxidants, which prevented the production of reactive oxygen species, significantly reduced metabolic abnormalities, inflammation and oxidative stress in these mice.
Taken together, the findings suggest that IRE1α evolved to expand the capacity of beta cells to produce insulin in response to increases in blood glucose levels. The study also implicates this major cell stress pathway in the development of type 2 diabetes and suggests that a diet rich in antioxidants could help to prevent or reduce the severity of the disease.
“Currently, we are testing the effects of antioxidants on glucose levels and beta cell function in mice,” Kaufman said. “If these studies prove successful, they could pave the way for clinical trials in humans and eventually lead to a new therapeutic approach for dealing with a major pandemic of the 21st century.”
This post was written by guest blogger Janelle Weaver, PhD
Protecting pancreatic cells from stress could hold promise for treating diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that affects about eight percent of adults worldwide, significantly increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. This disease interferes with the body’s ability to make or use a hormone called insulin, which is produced by beta cells in the pancreas. These cells eventually fail in many patients with type 2 diabetes, making insulin replacement therapy a necessity for survival. However, this treatment is imprecise, onerous and often promotes weight gain, highlighting the strong need for better treatment options. Continue reading “Protecting pancreatic cells from stress could hold promise for treating diabetes”
Dr. Randal Kaufman, one of the world’s most influential scientific minds
Last week, Thomson Reuters published a list of the world’s most influential scientific minds—195 of them in biology and biochemistry to be exact. Thomson Reuters created the list based on scientists that write the most reports that rank among the top 1 percent cited by other scientists between the years 2002 and 2012. To no surprise from us at Sanford–Burnham, Randal Kaufman, PhD, professor and director of the Degenerative Disease Program, was on the list. Continue reading “Dr. Randal Kaufman, one of the world’s most influential scientific minds”