Physician Researcher Describes a Class of Drugs That May Reduce Beta Cell Death

Diabetes Center/QB3 researcher and San Francisco General Hospital endocrinologist, Feroz Papa, MD, PhD, has uncovered a new class of drugs that may prevent death of stressed cells, a mechanism that is thought to underlie diseases such as type 2 diabetes.  A NIH New Innovator Award grantee, Dr. Papa’s research has focused on the cell’s endoplasmic reticulum (ER) – a cellular compartment of the cell where insulin is initially synthesized.  Dr. Papa believes that during the gradual development of type 2 diabetes, the stress of processing large amounts of insulin will overwork the ER of the beta cell – eventually leading to beta cell death. In the August issue of Cell , Dr. Papa describes how a cellular protein called IRE1 serves as a life-or-death switch for cells experiencing ER stress. Dr. Papa and his UCSF collaborator, Scott Oakes, MD , decided that the best way to reduce cell death due to ER stress is to create drugs that target IRE1. These drugs named KIRAs (Kinase Inhibitory RNAse Attenuators) may protect cells by reducing the death signals being sent by IRE1. Stated acting NIH Director Raynard Kington, MD, PhD, “Dr. Papa’s discovery opens up promising new approaches for saving crucial insulin-producing cells. This is exactly the type of research that the New Innovator Program was designed to foster.” [ UCSF News Office Story ]