Investigators at the Helmholtz Institute have shown that inceptor, an inhibitor of the insulin signaling pathway, acted by binding insulin and targeting it for degradation. “Insulin was discovered 100 years ago, and the insulin receptor was discovered 50 years ago,” Heiko Lickert told BioWorld. “Now we have a new insulin receptor, which degrades insulin.” Lickert is the senior author of the paper reporting the new insights into how inceptor works, which were published online in Nature Metabolism.

Alltrna Inc. has presented new preclinical data on the company’s first transfer RNA (tRNA) development candidate, AP-003.

Researchers from E-Therapeutics plc presented preclinical data for ETX-312, a GalNAc-conjugated short interfering RNA (siRNA), produced using the Galomic platform and being developed for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

A ketone body, a molecule derived from the metabolism of acids to obtain energy when glucose is not available, could become an effective ally in treating Alzheimer’s or preventing the effects of aging on the brain. A group of scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have studied the role of β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) as a signaling metabolite of misfolded proteins by interacting with them and altering their solubility, a mechanism that allows their elimination, as observed in preclinical models.

A U.K. study has uncovered distinctive genetic drivers of type 2 diabetes in South Asians that lead to faster development of complications, the need for earlier insulin replacement therapy and a weaker response to some widely prescribed drugs. That points to the need to refine care pathways. But in addition, the research provides a potent illustration of how the under-representation in genomics databases of people who are not of white European origin can skew results and be a source of discrimination.