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08 Oct 2008
Killing 'angry' immune cells which are located in obese fat and muscle tissue could help in the fight against diabetes, scientists have suggested.
A study by scientists at US academic institution the University of California, San Diego, found that by doing this they were able to rapidly reverse insulin resistance in obese mice.
Published in the October issue of Cell Metabolism, the researchers suggest treatments which are aimed at specific sets of the cells - called macrophage cells - could offer an effective therapy for diabetes sufferers.
The scientists artificially made the macrophage cells susceptible to the diphtheria toxin to kill them off.
Jerrod Olefsky, from the team of scientists, said: "We used a genetic 'trick' that allowed us to rapidly kill these macrophages... The treatment killed these cells within hours and insulin resistance simply reversed itself."
He added the findings argue strongly that macrophages are a cause of the inflammations that lead to diabetes in people who are obese, which could have implications for the condition's treatment.
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