Research from the University of Central Florida indentifies a gene that controls the development of fat cells. Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Induced Protein (MCPIP) gives scientists a new direction for developing drugs that would prevent the body from becoming resistant to insulin and prone to type 2 diabetes.

MCPIP is a regulator of fat cell formation and blood vessel formation that feeds growing fat tissue. Predominance of fatty tissue contributes to the inability to process insulin, potentially triggering type 2 diabetes. Until recently, a different protein, known as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) was thought to be the the master controller of fat cell formation.

The creation of new drugs that can block or slow down the formation of MCPIP has the potential to help hundreds of millions of people worldwide who are clinically obese and to dramatically reduce health care costs. Establishing chemical combinations effective at shutting down MCPIP will likely take several years, but researchers are encouraged by recent results.

News source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090826110112.htm