Cell role in diabetes found

A TYPE of immune system cell plays a key role in the development of type-2 diabetes, research suggests.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Aug 2012, 07:00 BST

Neutrophils, which normally attack bacteria and other foreign invaders, also secrete a protein that promotes insulin resistance, scientists found.

The condition, which occurs when the body stops responding to the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin, is one of the main features of type-2 diabetes.

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Neutrophils appear to promote chronic low-grade inflammation, increasing the chances of insulin resistance. “These results are largely unexpected,” said US researcher Dr Da Young Oh, of the University of California at San Diego.

Neutrophils could be a new target for drugs developed to treat insulin resistance, say the scientists.