If a human ate tens of thousands of calories a day, ballooned in size, then barely moved for months, the health outcomes would be catastrophic. Scientists have long been puzzled why this same behavior doesn’t lead to diabetes in grizzly bears—until now.
By feeding honey water to hibernating bears, researchers at Washington State University have discovered genetic clues to how these bruins can control their insulin. Their results—published in iScience—might lead to better diabetes treatments for people.
Insulin is a hormone found in most mammals that regulates the body’s blood sugar levels, for instance by telling the liver, muscle, and fat cells to absorb blood sugar, a source of energy. But if a lot of blood sugar enters the bloodstream, over time the cells stop responding, and become resistant to insulin. This is a leading cause of Type 2 diabetes, a disease that can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and blindness.
This experiment helped the team narrow down the bears’ secret to controlling their insulin: Eight key proteins that seem to have a unique role in bear biology, working either independently or together to regulate insulin during hibernation.
Because humans share most of our genes with bears, understanding the role of these eight proteins could teach scientists more about human insulin resistance, [co-author Blair] Perry says.
