
Canadian researchers have identified how vitamin K helps prevent diabetes, which could lead to new therapeutic applications for a disease that affects one in 11 people worldwide and has no cure. Several studies have previously suggested a link between low vitamin K intake and an increased risk of diabetes. However, the biological mechanism by which vitamin K protects against diabetes has remained a mystery until now.
The team from Université de Montréal (UdeM) found a possible protective role of vitamin K and gamma-carboxylation in beta cells. Vitamin K is a micronutrient known for its role in blood clotting, particularly in gamma-carboxylation – an enzymatic reaction essential to the process.
The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, determined that enzymes involved in gamma-carboxylation and therefore vitamin K utilization were present in greater abundance in pancreatic beta cells, the cells that produce the valuable insulin that regulates blood sugar levels. .
“Diabetes is known to be caused by a decrease in the number of beta cells or an inability to produce enough insulin, hence our great interest in this novel finding,” says Mathieu Ferron, Associate Research Professor of Medicine at UdeM.
“We were able to identify a new gamma-carboxylated protein called ERGP,” added Julie Lacombe, who conducted the work in Ferron’s laboratory.
“Our research shows that this protein plays an important role in maintaining physiological levels of calcium in beta cells to prevent disruption of insulin secretion. Finally, we have shown that vitamin K via gamma-carboxylation is essential for the role of ERGP.”
This is the first time in 15 years that a new vitamin K-dependent protein has been identified, opening a new field of research in this area.