Role of cilia in developing hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance

患有2型糖尿病和肥胖症的患者血液中的胰岛素含量高于没有这些条件的人。目前尚不清楚高胰岛素含量是这些疾病的原因还是结果。目前已知有两个关键因素促使胰岛素水平升高，因此我们必须了解：1.为什么胰腺细胞产生/分泌更多的胰岛素，是什么因素控制它？和2.为什么肌肉和脂肪细胞（胰岛素的靶细胞）对正常水平的胰岛素没有反应？最近的证据表明，纤毛（一种从大多数细胞中突出的毛发状结构）的缺陷可能与肥胖的发展有关。我们的研究旨在了解是否有太多的胰岛素产生细胞（在胰腺中），或者肌肉和脂肪细胞的反应太少。一旦知道这一点，我们将确定高胰岛素血症（胰岛素水平升高）中纤毛参与的新分子和细胞机制。只有通过了解疾病的机制和控制它的因素，我们才能开始设计治疗或管理方案来对抗这些日益常见的疾病。

Patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity have a higher insulin content in the blood than people without those conditions. It is still not clear whether high insulin content is a cause or a result of these diseases. Currently it is known that there are two key elements driving insulin levels up and thus it is important for us to understand; 1. why pancreatic cells are producing/secreting more insulin and what factors control it? and 2. why do muscle and fat cells (the target cells for insulin) not respond to normal levels of insulin? Recent evidence suggests that defects in cilia, a hair like structure protruding from most cells, might be involved in the development of obesity. Our study is designed to understand whether there may be too many insulin producing cells (in the pancreas), or too little response from muscle and fat cells. Once that is known we will then determine the novel molecular and cellular mechanisms of cilia involvement in hyperinsulinaemia (increased level of insulin). Only through understanding the mechanisms of disease and the factors controlling it, can we begin to design therapy or management regimens to combat these increasingly common diseases.