According to a new study, elevated levels of the protein galectin-1 is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes about 18 years later.
The findings of the study were published in the journal ‘Diabetologia’. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg and Lund University found that elevated levels of the protein galectin-1 are linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes about 18 years later. At the same time, this protein seems to be a protective factor for the kidneys among type 2 diabetes patients at high risk for diabetic nephropathy.
The researchers pointed to both negative and positive links between the protein galectin-1 and type 2 diabetes. In a general population, galectin-1 may be associated with an increased risk of diabetes, but in patients with a subtype of diabetes that increases the risk of kidney damage, galectin-1 appeared to be beneficial, as patients with high galectin-1 levels in their blood suffer less kidney damage.
“This is probably not as strange as it might sound. My own personal theory is that the actions of galectin-1 found in the kidney are linked to inflammatory processes, whereas the actions of galectin-1 in the adipose tissue appear to be largely linked to metabolic processes. Thus, we can expect to see different mechanisms at work and different outcomes for the same protein,” said Emanuel Fryk, one of the study’s lead authors.
Galectin-1, a protein expressed by fat cells as well as other cells, is involved in both the regulation of inflammation and the function of fat cells in the body. Five years ago, the research team at the University of Gothenburg presented results from a study of individuals with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and healthy controls.
The study incorporates analyses of blood samples from more than 4,000 participants, collected between 1991 and 1994. Galectin-1 levels in blood samples was analyzed in order to assess the relation to risk of developing type 2 diabetes, around 18 years after the sample was initially collected.
The authors do not propose that galectin-1 should become a new tool in primary care to predict who will develop diabetes, but this is a step forward in better understanding the disease. One of the most serious complications is chronic kidney disease, which about half of those who have type 2 diabetes develop.