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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
It has been known for some time that the thyroid gland is a strong regulator of the body's metabolism, making it key to many health conditions. But the molecular details of how thyroid hormone acts on cells in the body have never been fully understood. Now researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have taken a big step toward the resolution of this mystery by showing that it doesn't operate as a straight on/off switch, but more like a dimmer.
Biologists have known that, in cells where thyroid hormone acts to regulate metabolism, it operates in the cell nucleus, increasing the activity of some genes and decreasing the activity of others. The details of how the hormone controls gene activity have been mostly unknown, due to technical hurdles that have made it difficult to study them. The Penn Medicine researchers, who report their discovery today in Genes and Development, were able to overcome many of these technical hurdles to provide a much clearer picture of thyroid hormone's basic mechanisms of action -- in the process overturning other prominent models of these mechanisms.
Biologists have known that, in cells where thyroid hormone acts to regulate metabolism, it operates in the cell nucleus, increasing the activity of some genes and decreasing the activity of others. The details of how the hormone controls gene activity have been mostly unknown, due to technical hurdles that have made it difficult to study them. The Penn Medicine researchers, who report their discovery today in Genes and Development, were able to overcome many of these technical hurdles to provide a much clearer picture of thyroid hormone's basic mechanisms of action -- in the process overturning other prominent models of these mechanisms.
Discovery illuminates how thyroid hormone 'dims' metabolism
Basic biology finding on thyroid hormone function could lead to new treatments for obesity, diabetes and related disorders
www.sciencedaily.com