Protein Block May Stop Vascular Damage in Diabetes

A protein called NFAT is connected to diabetes and damage to the heart….

During a four week study, researchers administered an immunosuppressant that prevented the activation of NFAT proteins and studied the effects on diabetic mice. Lund University Diabetes Centre, Sweden researcher Maria Gomez said, "It is possible to stop atherosclerosis caused by diabetes despite the fact that the mice continued to have high blood sugar levels." The medication is especially effective as it specifically affects the NFAT in the cells of the blood vessels. This ensures that the whole immune system is not depressed, so that other adverse effects on the body are prevented.

The formation of plaque or atherosclerosis occurs in two different ways in people with diabetes and in those without diabetes. This difference in mechanism is the sole reason why plaque formation is inhibited in diabetic mice and has no effect on mice with normal blood glucose levels. The process by which plaque formation occurs in the blood vessels of mice is similar to this same process in humans. Because this is true, it is possible that the NFAT inhibitor will have similar effects in humans.

Anna V. Zetterqvist, Lisa M. Berglund, Fabiana Blanco, Eliana Garcia-Vaz, Maria Wigren, Pontus Dunér, Anna-Maria Dutius Andersson, Fong To, Peter Spegel, Jan Nilsson, Eva Bengtsson, Maria F. Gomez. Inhibition of Nuclear Factor of Activated T-Cells (NFAT) Suppresses Accelerated Atherosclerosis in Diabetic Mice. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (6): e65020 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065020