Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/03/18
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Kuo Chung-han
Taipei, March 18 (CNA) Besides obesity, inflammatory T cells in the immune system may
Chuang Huai-chia (莊懷佳, left), Hsu Hui-heng (許惠恒, right)
cause type 2 diabetes, especially in Asian people, a local research team said Friday.
After four years of research, the team of researchers from the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) and Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TCVGH) found that a lack of the enzyme MAP4K4 (Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase 4) might cause inflammatory T cells to increase and become activated, which could then bring about type 2 diabetes.
Speaking at a press conference to announce the latest findings, the team said that the lack of MAP4K4 and the increase of inflammatory T cells are highly correlated to high levels of blood glucose among type 2 diabetes patients, and unrelated to body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference.
They also found that the lack of MAP4K4 might be caused by its DNA methylation, which changes the enzyme’s DNA structure. [FULL STORY]
