Originally shared by annarita ruberto
Sugar Rush Shrinks Brain Cell Powerhouse
The spike in blood sugar levels that can come after a meal is controlled by the brain’s neuronal mitochondria, which are considered the “powerhouse of cells,” Yale School of Medicine researchers found in a new study.
Published in the Feb. 25 issue of the journal Cell, the findings could provide a better understanding of how type 2 diabetes develops.
Blood glucose levels are thought to be primarily controlled by the pancreatic hormone insulin, the liver, and the muscles. This new study, however, highlights a crucial role for mitochondria in a small subset of neurons of the brain in systemic glucose control.
The study was designed to explore how neurons in the brain adapt to the glucose “rush.” The researchers were surprised to find that not only do mitochondria of neurons “feel” the change in circulating glucose levels, but that adaptive changes in these same mitochondria are at the core of the body’s ability to handle sugar in the blood. To test this point, the research team generated several mouse models in which a specific mitochondrial protein called uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) was either missing or present in varying amounts in the subset of brain cells that sense circulating sugar levels.
► Learn more>>
http://news.yale.edu/2016/02/25/sugar-rush-shrinks-brain-cell-powerhouse
► The study "UCP2 Regulates Mitochondrial Fission and Ventromedial Nucleus Control of Glucose Responsiveness", published in the journal Cell>> http://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(16)30112-X
#Neuroscience, #Brain, #Research, #NeuronalMitochondria
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