Mitochondria as a Target for Future Diabetes Treatments

2015

Diabetes mellitus is rapidly becoming the world’s most dangerous serial killer. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a currently incurable autoimmune disease marked by progressive, and eventually exhaustive, destruction of the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) describes the combination of insulin resistance in peripheral tissue, insufficient insulin secretion from the pancreatic beta cells, and excessive glucagon secretion from the pancreatic alpha cells. T1D as well as severe cases of T2D are treated with insulin replacement, which can merely be considered as life support for the acute phases of the disease. Islet replacement of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells repr…