Type 2 diabetes has traditionally been thought to be a problem relating directly to insulin production, but a new study shows that inflammation may the real cause of the disease.
Yale School of Medicine researchers have identified the molecular mechanism by which insulin normally inhibits the liver from producing too much glucose, or blood sugar. They were able to show how this process goes awry in patients with Type 2 diabetes.
In healthy people, the liver stores excess blood sugar as glycogen, which it doles out overnight during sleep and other fasting periods to keep glucose levels within a normal range. In Type 2 diabetics, the liver continues to pump out glucose even when insulin is available.
Experts have long debated how insulin suppresses glucose production, with many asserting that it was due to a direct action, but the researchers, using mouse studies, uncovered a different process.
They found that insulin does not directly suppress glucose production, as originally thought, but instead acts by reducing hepatic acetyl CoA, a key molecule involved in this conversion process. They also found that inflammation could reverse this process and lead to insulin resistance, which results in diabetes.
The researchers hope their discovery will lead to new treatments.
© 2026 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.