Researchers from University College Dublin and affiliated organizations presented data from a study that aimed to assess the role of α-melanocyte-stimulatory hormone (α-MSH) in diabetes.

A Surrozen Inc. research team has reported preclinical data for the novel frizzled class receptor 4 (FZD4) agonist, SZN-413, being evaluated for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. In vitro studies using the Norrin mimetic (SZN-413-p) revealed that SZN-413-p induced Wnt/β-catenin signaling and upregulated blood-brain barrier/blood-retina barrier gene expressions in endothelial cells.

Jilin Huisheng Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd., a non-wholly owned subsidiary of Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Ltd., has raised ¥500 million (US$70 million) in a series A round. Huisheng, which has developed a pipeline of programs addressing both diabetes and its complications, plans to use the new funds to speed up its clinical trials and purchase manufacturing equipment, according to Che Fengsheng, executive director and chairman of Sihuan Pharma.

The University of Bari Aldo Moro presented data from an in vivo study assessing the effects of irisin on pancreatic islets of diabetic mice (type 2 diabetes).

Investigators at Washington State University (WSU) have identified a set of eight proteins that were expressed in the serum of Ursus arctos horribilis, better known as the grizzly bear, specifically during their hibernation period. In addition to reporting new basic insights into hibernation, the study, which was published in the Sept. 21, 2022, issue of iScience, could also give clues to insulin resistance and its relationship to body fat.

A simple injection of muscle tissue could control glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Genetic modification of skeletal muscle and subsequent intramuscular implantation could increase blood sugar absorption and become an effective and long-lasting treatment for this pathology. “We took mice satellite cells and we genetically altered to overexpress GLUT4,” Hagit Shoyhet, researcher at the Levenberg lab of stem-cell and tissue engineering, Technion (Israel), said at the European Association for the study of Diabetes (EASD) 58th Annual Meeting.

Pancreatic β cells are the only cells in the body that produce insulin, and are the cells whose malfunctioning is the proximate cause of diabetes. Consequently, repairing or replacing β cells is one of the major goals of diabetes research. In type I diabetes, where the immune system destroys β cells, need to be replaced outright. In type II diabetes, β cells “disappear” in another way. There is ample evidence that under conditions of chronic high blood sugar, such cells dedifferentiate, becoming less β cell-like over time.

Researchers at Northwestern University and COUR Pharmaceutical Development Company Inc. have shown that biodegradable carboxylated poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles containing encapsulated Ag (tolerance-inducing microparticles [TIMPs] or COUR nanoparticles [CNPs]) are able to prevent and treat type 1 diabetes (T1D) induced by transfer of monospecific diabetogenic CD4 and CD8 transgenic T cells to NOD.scid mice.

More than 70% of individuals with diabetes develop some form of heart disease. Nonischemic diabetic heart disease (NiDHD) is a chronic complication characterized by ventricular dilation and hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, and decreased or preserved systolic function, and eventually may result in heart failure.