Cellular mechanism behind chronic inflammation, type 2 diabetes identified
By ANIWednesday, December 22, 2010
WASHINGTON - Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have uncovered the cellular mechanism responsible for chronic inflammation and type 2 diabetes.
They demonstrated that certain T cells require input from monocytes in order to maintain their pro-inflammatory response in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
The study also showed, for the first time, how a loss in homeostasis in this group of T cells most likely promotes chronic inflammation associated with T2D.
T2D is a chronic inflammatory disease in which the body has high levels of glucose in the blood due to the lack of insulin or the body’s inability to use insulin efficiently.
Working with human T cells, the team observed that in order for T cells to exhibit the pro-inflammatory response, they required constant interaction with monocytes, indicating that monocytes play an indirect role in chronic inflammation and T2D.
The study appeared in an online edition of the Journal of Immunology. (ANI)
