Grant: Project Grant

Over 8% of the Canadian population is diagnosed with diabetes, and that number increases to 25% if we include people with pre-diabetes. Diabetes causes sugar in the blood to be high, which has many negative effects on the body such as blindness, stroke, kidney and heart problems. Diabetes is caused by a general decline in the ability of cells within our pancreas to produce insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar. We do not yet understand why these cells fail, but we know that it is likely a combination of poor lifestyle choices (bad diet, no exercise) and genetics. We and others have shown that a protein inside these insulin-producing cells called PGC-1 helps to control insulin release and is often decreased in diabetic patients. Our research goal is to determine how this protein controls the health, survival, and function of these important cells and what happens to the cells when PGC-1 levels are changed (e.g. due to our genes or environment). We are also investigating whether we can predict low PGC-1 levels using our genetic code. With this knowledge, we may be able to better predict who is at risk of getting the disease and find new drugs to treat patients.