An early sign of insulin resistance preceding type 2 diabetes (T2D) is compromised glucose uptake into skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle takes up >70% of glucose in our human body, yet no drugs targeting muscle glucose uptake have been developed to treat T2D.
Exercise has proven benefits to human health; however, patients with diabetes often have difficulty with exercise due to lack of energy and fragility. Developing an “exercise pill” represents a significant effort for both basic research in regenerative medicine and clinical treatment of T2D
An unexplored avenue in T2D treatment involves directly enhancing glucose uptake into muscle fibers to alleviate hyperglycemia. However, interventions that indiscriminately boost glucose uptake may yield side effects on vital organs such as cardiac hypertrophy or fatty liver.
Our novel technology centers around the identification of SYPL2, a muscle-specific gene pivotal for regulating glucose uptake into skeletal muscle. Targeting SYPL2 expression therapeutically offers a secure method to amplify muscle glucose uptake without adversely affecting the heart, liver, kidney, and brain, as these crucial organs lack endogenous SYPL2 protein.