Featured
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News |
Diabetes drug slows development of Parkinson’s disease
The drug, which is in the same family as blockbuster weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy, slowed development of symptoms by a small but statistically significant amount.
- David Adam
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Spotlight |
Stealthy stem cells to treat disease
Gene-editing strategies that allow stem cells to evade the immune system offer hope for universal cell-replacement therapies.
- Elie Dolgin
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Article
| Open Access
Genetic drivers of heterogeneity in type 2 diabetes pathophysiology
A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of type 2 diabetes (T2D) identifies more than 600 T2D-associated loci; integrating physiological trait and single-cell chromatin accessibility data at these loci sheds light on heterogeneity within the T2D phenotype.
- Ken Suzuki
- , Konstantinos Hatzikotoulas
- & Eleftheria Zeggini
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Research Briefing |
What makes people with diabetes more susceptible to serious lung infections?
Diabetes is a strong risk factor for viral respiratory infections, including influenza and COVID-19, which can be particularly dangerous for people with the condition. The discovery that the metabolism of lung dendritic cells, key sentinels of the immune system, is disrupted by high blood-sugar levels could provide a route to reversing this susceptibility.
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Article |
Control of lipolysis by a population of oxytocinergic sympathetic neurons
Oxytocin derived from peripheral sympathetic neurons is shown to regulate lipolysis and systemic metabolism.
- Erwei Li
- , Luhong Wang
- & Evan D. Rosen
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News & Views |
Diabetes prevention programme put to the test
Causal evidence shows that referring people who are at risk of developing diabetes to a nationwide lifestyle-change programme can result in health improvements — but only if programme participation can be sustained.
- Edward W. Gregg
- & Naomi Holman
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Nature Podcast |
How to 3D print fully formed robots
Printing multi-material objects in a single run, and the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions for preventing type 2 diabetes.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Shamini Bundell
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Nature Podcast |
Massive study assesses benefits of lifestyle changes on diabetes risk
A large diabetes prevention programme in the UK is put to the test, with promising results.
- Benjamin Thompson
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News |
Giant UK programme to lower people’s blood-sugar levels really works
One of the world’s biggest campaigns to prevent diabetes through behaviour change holds promise for public-health gains.
- Heidi Ledford
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Article |
Quasi-experimental evaluation of a nationwide diabetes prevention programme
Analysis of the largest behaviour change programme for prediabetes globally provides causal evidence that lifestyle advice and counselling implemented at scale can improve key cardiovascular risk factors.
- Julia M. Lemp
- , Christian Bommer
- & Pascal Geldsetzer
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Perspective |
The power and potential of mitochondria transfer
The mechanisms by which mitochondria are transferred between cells and how intercellular mitochondria transfer regulates physiological processes and disease pathogenesis are discussed.
- Nicholas Borcherding
- & Jonathan R. Brestoff
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News Feature |
A DIY ‘bionic pancreas’ is changing diabetes care — what's next?
A community of people with type 1 diabetes got a self-built device approved. What can they offer that big companies can’t?
- Liam Drew
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Article
| Open Access
Gut microbial carbohydrate metabolism contributes to insulin resistance
Faecal carbohydrates, particularly host-accessible monosaccharides, are increased in individuals with insulin resistance and are associated with microbial carbohydrate metabolisms and host inflammatory cytokines.
- Tadashi Takeuchi
- , Tetsuya Kubota
- & Hiroshi Ohno
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News |
Experimental insulin implant uses electricity to control genes
Human cells that have been engineered to respond to an electrical current could be incorporated into future medical devices.
- Lilly Tozer
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Article |
Mammary duct luminal epithelium controls adipocyte thermogenic programme
In mice, sympathetic nerves associated with female mammary glands control the secretion of thermogenesis-controlling factors by epithelial cells in the adipocyte niche, revealing sex-specific differences in adipose thermogenesis.
- Sanil Patel
- , Njeri Z. R. Sparman
- & Prashant Rajbhandari
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News |
As COVID-19 cases rose, so did diabetes — no one knows why
The spike in childhood type 1 diabetes opened new avenues for researchers to explore the cause of the disease.
- Clare Watson
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Article
| Open Access
GDF15 promotes weight loss by enhancing energy expenditure in muscle
GDF15 treatment in mice counteracts compensatory reductions in energy expenditure, resulting in greater weight loss and reductions in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease compared to caloric restriction alone.
- Dongdong Wang
- , Logan K. Townsend
- & Gregory R. Steinberg
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News |
Beyond Ozempic: brand-new obesity drugs will be cheaper and more effective
Hormone mimics offer advantages even beyond those of the potent weight-loss jabs on the market now.
- Saima Sidik
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Spotlight |
Mapping the Chinese microbiome: it’s time for a united effort
Much has been done to investigate the human microbiome. Now, it’s time for countries to dig deeper.
- Ju-Sheng Zheng
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Outlook |
Confronting racial and ethnic disparities in diabetic kidney disease
Diabetes is on the rise globally, mostly in low- and middle-income countries and among minority ethnic groups in wealthier nations. This increase is behind a surge in chronic kidney disease.
- Charles Schmidt
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Outlook |
SGLT2 inhibitors breathe life into kidney-disease care
Researchers want to expand the use of drugs that protect the hearts and kidneys of people with chronic kidney disease.
- Amanda B. Keener
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News |
Diabetes and obesity are rising globally — but some nations are hit harder
Rates of type 2 diabetes and other conditions caused by disorders of the body’s energy-processing system are driven in part by changing food habits.
- Saima May Sidik
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News Feature |
How a pioneering diabetes drug offers hope for preventing autoimmune disorders
The approval of an antibody therapy that pauses the progression of type 1 diabetes is a first in the field, and some say a model for other drug developers.
- Elie Dolgin
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News & Views |
Serine deficiency causes complications in diabetes
Impaired sensory-nerve function is a common complication of diabetes. Evidence in mice indicates that deficiency of the amino acid serine causes these complications — and suggests that supplements could help to treat them.
- Thorsten Hornemann
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News & Views |
From the archive: statistical marvels, and the quest for insulin
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Article
| Open Access
Post-translational control of beige fat biogenesis by PRDM16 stabilization
The ubiquitin E3 ligase CUL2–APPBP2 determines PRDM16 protein stability by catalysing PRDM16 polyubiquitination in beige fat.
- Qiang Wang
- , Huixia Li
- & Shingo Kajimura
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Article |
Autoantibody mimicry of hormone action at the thyrotropin receptor
Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the thyrotropin receptor reveal the basis for the activation of the receptor by autoantibodies in patients with Graves’ disease.
- Bryan Faust
- , Christian B. Billesbølle
- & Aashish Manglik
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Correspondence |
Africa needs more bioinformaticians for population studies
- Ashraf Akintayo Akintola
- , Ui Wook Hwang
- & Abdullahi Tunde Aborode
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News & Views |
Maternal enzyme reprograms paternal DNA for healthy offspring
It emerges that high blood sugar deregulates the enzyme TET3 in the eggs of female mice, preventing it from properly modifying sperm-derived DNA when eggs are fertilized. This leads to metabolic defects in adult progeny.
- Yumiko K. Kawamura
- & Antoine H. F. M. Peters
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Article |
Maternal inheritance of glucose intolerance via oocyte TET3 insufficiency
Pregestational hyperglycaemia in mothers increases the probability of glucose intolerance in the offspring, an effect controlled by TET3-dependent DNA demethylation of genes involved in insulin secretion.
- Bin Chen
- , Ya-Rui Du
- & Hefeng Huang
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Research Highlight |
The metrics that predict the course of type 2 diabetes
Factors such as body mass index and blood pressure offer clues to the most likely health problems down the road.
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News |
Diabetes risk rises after COVID, massive study finds
Even mild SARS-CoV-2 infections can amplify a person’s chance of developing diabetes, especially for those already susceptible to the disease.
- Clare Watson
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Research Highlight |
Cold treatment for insulin-making cells points to diabetes cure
Protocol for freezing structures called beta islets allows them to be safely stored for months at a stretch.
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Article |
Regulation of liver subcellular architecture controls metabolic homeostasis
Detailed reconstruction using enhanced focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy imaging and deep-learning-based automated segmentation demonstrates that hepatocyte subcellular organelle architecture regulates metabolism.
- Güneş Parlakgül
- , Ana Paula Arruda
- & Gökhan S. Hotamışlıgil
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News & Views |
A subset of immune-system T cells branded as seeds for type 1 diabetes
The identification of a specific subpopulation of immune-system T cells that drives type 1 diabetes provides insight into the development of autoimmune disease, and could point the way to new therapies.
- Stephen J. Turner
- & Nicole L. La Gruta
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Article |
IL-27 signalling promotes adipocyte thermogenesis and energy expenditure
Therapeutic administration of IL-27—serum levels of which are decreased in individuals with obesity—improves thermogenesis, protects against diet-induced obesity and ameliorates insulin resistance in mouse models of obesity.
- Qian Wang
- , Dehai Li
- & Zhinan Yin
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Outlook |
Homing in on an oral link to inflammatory disease
The immunological effects of untreated gum disease can amplify risk of a range of disorders — but could also create opportunities for intervention.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Article |
Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing
Hundreds of genetic loci associated with age at menopause, combined with experimental evidence in mice, highlight mechanisms of reproductive ageing across the lifespan.
- Katherine S. Ruth
- , Felix R. Day
- & John R. B. Perry
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Outlook |
How stem cells could fix type 1 diabetes
Trials to replace the pancreatic β cells that are destroyed by this autoimmune disease are raising hopes of a cure.
- Liam Drew
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Article |
Asymmetric activation of the calcium-sensing receptor homodimer
Cryo-EM structures of human calcium-sensing receptor reveal intrinsic asymmetry in the receptor homodimer upon activation that is stabilized by calcimimetic drugs adopting distinct poses in the two protomers, priming one protomer for G-protein coupling.
- Yang Gao
- , Michael J. Robertson
- & Georgios Skiniotis
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Article |
Interpreting type 1 diabetes risk with genetics and single-cell epigenomics
A genome-wide association study combined with single-cell epigenomics identifies risk loci for type 1 diabetes.
- Joshua Chiou
- , Ryan J. Geusz
- & Kyle J. Gaulton
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Correspondence |
COVID-19: build on Belgium’s psychosocial findings
- Elke Van Hoof
- & Nele Van den Cruyce
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News & Views |
New-found brake calibrates insulin action in β-cells
Insulin is produced by pancreatic β-cells. The identification of a regulator of insulin signalling in these cells cements the long-standing idea that this pathway has a key role in β-cell biology.
- Rohit N. Kulkarni
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Article |
RANK links thymic regulatory T cells to fetal loss and gestational diabetes in pregnancy
RANK promotes the hormone-mediated development of thymic regulatory T cells during pregnancy; loss of RANK is associated with impaired maturation of maternal regulatory T cells, leading to fetal loss and the development of gestational diabetes.
- Magdalena Paolino
- , Rubina Koglgruber
- & Josef M. Penninger
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Article |
snRNA-seq reveals a subpopulation of adipocytes that regulates thermogenesis
Single-nucleus RNA sequencing in mouse and human adipose tissue identifies a subpopulation of adipocytes that regulates thermogenesis in neighbouring adipocytes in a paracrine manner by modulating acetate signalling.
- Wenfei Sun
- , Hua Dong
- & Christian Wolfrum
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Career Column |
How managing a chronic illness gave me skills that would strengthen my PhD
A childhood diagnosis of type 1 diabetes taught Olivia Favor about the importance of meticulous record-keeping and other skills that proved useful in the lab.
- Olivia Favor
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Article |
Immune-evasive human islet-like organoids ameliorate diabetes
Metabolically-mature human islet-like organoids generated from induced pluripotent stem cells are able to recapitulate insulin-responsive pancreatic islet function and avoid immunologic cell death in diabetic mouse transplantation models.
- Eiji Yoshihara
- , Carolyn O’Connor
- & Ronald M. Evans
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Outlook |
Gene therapy could offer an inclusive cure for cystic fibrosis
After three decades of false starts, gene therapy against the disease is in new clinical trials — and there is even hope of a cure.
- Roxanne Khamsi
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Article |
A leptin–BDNF pathway regulating sympathetic innervation of adipose tissue
The authors show that leptin signalling regulates the plasticity of sympathetic architecture of adipose tissue via a top-down neural pathway that is crucial for energy homeostasis.
- Putianqi Wang
- , Ken H. Loh
- & Jeffrey Friedman
Genetic risk variants lead to type 2 diabetes development through different pathways