Type 2 diabetes affects 10% of the American population. It is closely related to obesity and causes serious health problems such as heart disease, vision loss, kidney failure, dementia, incurable diseases and nerve damage. This also increases the risk of disconnection. Controlling blood sugar levels can prevent these problems, but it is often difficult to achieve, and for many patients, this is an ongoing struggle.
In two papers published in the journal Nature Communications and Nature Metabolism, the research team explained the complex response of the brain to fibroblast growth factor 1. They discovered an extracellular matrix component called the "peripheral neural network," which fuses groups of neurons involved in blood sugar control. The researchers learned that fibroblast growth factor 1 can repair the peripheral neural network caused by diabetes. This response is necessary to maintain remission of diabetes.
Dr. Tunes Pers from the Novordisk Basic Metabolism Research Center at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Dr. Michael Schwartz, a diabetes and obesity researcher at UWMedicine in Seattle, are the senior authors of this article. The researchers first explained the changes in gene expression caused by fibroblast growth factor 1 processing various brain cell types in the hypothalamus. This small area of the brain regulates many body functions, such as blood sugar, hunger, food intake, energy use and storage. Scientists have discovered that glial cells not only provide structural support, but also help organize and regulate the activities of neural circuits, and their responses are stronger than neurons. The researchers also observed that the interaction between stellate cells and certain neurons enhanced the interaction. These neurons produce proteins related to Agouch (called Agrp neurons). Astral stars are abundant, which can nourish neurons and support their electrical transmission. Agrp neurons are an integral part of the melanocortin signaling system, which is an important brain circuit that controls eating, weight, and blood sugar levels. Agrp is well known that excessive activation of neurons may inhibit melanocortin signaling. This effect is related to diabetes in humans and rodents. The researchers pointed out that it is forbidden to inject fibroblast growth factor 1 into the brain to inhibit melanocortin signaling. This will allow you to continue to relieve diabetes. Other cell types that strongly respond to fibroblast growth factor 1 are unispheres, elongated glial cells that are sensitive to nutrition and found only in the hypothalamus. Their contribution to the normalization of glucose levels needs further study. Peripheral neural networks promote the stability of neural circuits by connecting with neurons and restricting the connections between neurons. Researchers want to know whether obesity-related diabetes is related to the structural changes in these peripheral neural networks and whether it can be treated.
The research team found that in the Zucker Diabetes Fatty rat model of type 2 diabetes, these networks in the hypothalamus were worse than those in rats with normal blood sugar levels, but in other parts of the brain, these networks were normal.
After a single injection of fibroblast growth factor 1 into the brain, the loss of this peripheral neural network quickly recovered. Enzymatic digestion and net removal hinder the ability of fibroblast growth factor 1 to improve diabetes. In contrast, fibroblast growth factor 1 does not require a complete peripheral neural network to influence food intake. These findings confirm that the peripheral neural network is an important target for sustained diabetic remission induced by fibroblast growth factor 1. Researchers speculate that these networks may help inhibit the activity of Agrp neurons, thereby promoting melanocortin signaling. Researchers will continue to try to bridge the gap between the cellular (and extracellular) response to fibroblast growth factor 1 and the normalization of blood sugar levels. They hope this will eventually help develop new strategies to achieve sustained diabetic remission in patients.