Insulin resistance precedes and predicts the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), a chronic disease that causes high morbidity and mortality worldwide. In affected people, insulin is unable to facilitate the uptake of glucose through tissues and organs, leading to an increase in blood glucose (chronic hyperglycemia). Since skeletal muscle is the tissue that uses the most glucose in response to insulin action, it is the most affected tissue by insulin resistance.
Now, a study published in Cell Communication and Signaling describes new molecular mechanisms to understand insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and to outline future drug targets for DM2.
The study is led by Manuel Vázquez-Carrera, from the UB’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, the Institute of Biomedicine of the UB (IBUB) and the…