BioCentury
ARTICLE | Preclinical News

Increasing ZMPSTE24 could help treat, prevent Type II diabetes

March 10, 2018 12:15 AM UTC

A study published in Cell showed that the yeast homolog of zinc metallopeptidase STE24 (ZMPSTE24) reduced islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) oligomer-induced proteotoxicity by declogging aggregates found in pancreatic beta cells, suggesting that increasing ZMPSTE24 could help treat or prevent Type II diabetes.

IAPP is co-secreted with insulin to promote glycemic regulation. However, IAPP misfolds in Type II diabetes, forming amyloid deposits and leading to pancreatic beta cell dysfunction. A previous study showed that the S. cerevisiae protein STE24 degrades proteins clogged in the translocon between the cytoplasm and endoplasmic reticulum (ER)...