There is currently no known drug treatment for preventing the onset or progression of diabetes mellitus. However, with my team, we have recently discovered a new potential drug receptor, the insulin inhibitory receptor, a breakthrough with the potential to revolutionize diabetes mellitus care. The discovery promises new, clinically-relevant treatments to protect or regenerate functional ß-cell mass and stop disease progression.
Insulin-producing ß-cell dysfunction or loss causes diabetes, which affects 430 Million patients worldwide. Therefore, we specifically focus on ß-cell generation and regeneration. In combination with single-cell Omics, bioinformatics and AI analyses of rare diabetic patient samples as well as innovative stem cell, rodent and large animal models, we are working towards the identification of novel targets for regenerative therapy. Recently, we have identified a novel and druggable insulin inhibitory receptor, named inceptor. This discovery is a significant milestone for diabetes research as the scientific community celebrates 100 years of insulin and 50 years of insulin receptor discovery. Insulin resistance in ß-cells leads to diabetes and blocking inceptor function increases sensitisation of insulin signaling to protect pancreatic ß-cells from failure. Clinical translation of these findings might allow to protect and/or regenerate ß-cells for the prevention or remission of diabetes.
Tags: Diabetes, Regeneration, β-cells, Insulin, Stem Cells