Greasing insulin
An entirely new class of fatty acids has just been discovered that potentially is more potent than the w-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. The new fatty acids-which work through G protein-coupled receptor 120, a target that had once been discarded by researchers-could be used to restore insulin sensitivity in patients with diabetes.1
G protein-coupled receptor 120 (GPR120; O3FAR1) was tapped as a potential obesity and diabetes target following a 2005 paper in Nature Medicine that showed the receptor triggered the release of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) from intestinal cells when stimulated by unsaturated long-chain free fatty acids.2 But further studies showed that GPR120's direct effect on GLP-1 release would be minor or undetectable, and as a result companies abandoned the target in favor of related receptors that were able to stimulate insulin secretion...