The interaction between two proteins -- called sirtuin1 and PGC1-alpha -- may offer a target for the development of new drugs to treat diabetes, researchers say.Reporting in the March 3 issue of Nature, investigators at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found the two proteins interact to prompt the liver to produce sugar, apparently as a means of increasing survival odds when food is scarce.However, in people with diabetes, this boost in production of sugar by the liver can occur when it isn’t needed and cause harm, they say.The researchers studied fasting mice and noticed that sugar production by the liver went into high gear whenever there was a shortage of dietary calories. At the same time, the amount and activity of the two proteins also increased. But when the mice were given food, levels of the two proteins decreased, as did liver sugar production.
