(Ivanhoe Newswire) – A common sweetener found in sodas and other food
products has been linked to insulin resistance. Now researchers are explaining
why.
Investigators from Yale University School of Medicine studied high-fructose corn
syrup in mice in which a gene called transcriptional co activator PPARg
coactivator-1b (PGC-1b) was blocked. PGC-1b is responsible for controlling other
genes, one of which builds fat in the liver.
According to the researchers, problems arise because the sweetener is more
easily metabolized into fat in the liver than the traditional form of sugar,
glucose. That build up in the liver then causes nonalcoholic fatty liver
disease, which itself is linked to insulin resistance, the precursor to
diabetes.
In
the study, blocking the activity of PGC-1b in mice led to lower levels of genes
known to build fat in the liver. All of the mice were fed diets high in
fructose, but blocking the gene resulted in a reversal of their fructose-induced
insulin resistance and a threefold increase in glucose uptake in their fat
tissue.
The authors believe this line of study may one day lead to new therapies for the
treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, and other
problems related to the build up of fat in the liver.
The consumption of high-fructose corn syrup has skyrocketed since its
introduction in the 1970s, with estimates suggesting the average person consumes
60 pounds a year.
Sign up for a free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs called First to Know
by clicking here.
SOURCE: Cell Metabolism, published online March 3, 2009
