Certain Proteins Link Diabetes to Heart Disease

A new finding of elevated G proteins and related receptors, will help to explain the elevated risk of cardiovascular disease seen in the diabetes population.

Atrial levels of certain G proteins and related receptors are increased in people with diabetes, a finding that may help explain the elevated risk of cardiovascular disease seen in this population, US researchers report. Blockade of these receptors might yield a therapeutic benefit.

Dr. Madan Kwatra and colleagues, from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, analyzed atrial tissue obtained from 51 patients during cardiopulmonary bypass. More than a third of the patients had diabetes.
The authors found that levels of G-alpha-i and G-beta-1 were increased 1.7- and 2-fold, respectively, in patients with diabetes. In addition, levels of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR), a Gi-coupled receptor, were also elevated in diabetics.
In contrast, levels of other G proteins, such as G-beta-2 and G-alpha-s, were comparable in diabetics and non-diabetics, the investigators point out.

"The results of our studies suggest a molecular explanation for the increased risk of cardiac disease in patients with diabetes, since increased activity of G-alpha-i has been shown to lead to the development of dilated cardiomyopathy," Dr. Kwatra said in a statement. "This is the first demonstration of a diabetes-induced increase in G-alpha-i in the human heart."
Further studies are needed to determine if blocking mAChR and Gi activity enhances cardiac function in elderly patients with diabetes, the authors conclude. Diabetes Sept, 2004
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