Explaining How Mitochondrial Aging Leads to Diabetes

As we age, the mitochondrial �motors� that power our cells start to lose their horsepower. This drop-off in mitochondrial activity predisposes us to accumulate intracellular fat in muscle and liver cells, which can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. A new study directed by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Gerald I. Shulman has shown how changes in an enzyme known to be vital to the body's energy levels may lead to a decreasing ability to stave off diabetes as we get older.

 

�Type 2 diabetes is a major problem for us as we age,� says Shulman, pointing to the 40 percent of people over age 65 who suffer from type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Hoping to unravel how aging affects the components of the cell's energy production system, Shulman and colleagues at Yale University studied the effects of aging on the activity of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK).

 

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