Individuals living at high altitudes, where oxygen levels are lower, appear to be less prone to developing diabetes, according to new research. This finding may pave the way for novel diabetes treatments, scientists say.
Researchers detailed in the journal Cell Metabolism that, under low-oxygen conditions – such as those found at high elevations – red blood cells can alter their metabolism to absorb sugar from the bloodstream, effectively acting as a “glucose sponge.” This discovery offers a new perspective on how the body regulates blood sugar and could have significant implications for public health.
At higher altitudes, the ability to carry more glucose provides red blood cells with additional energy to efficiently deliver oxygen throughout the body. This process, the report notes, has a beneficial side effect of lowering blood sugar levels.
Previous experiments showed that mice breathing low-oxygen air had significantly lower glucose levels than normal. This suggests the animals rapidly consume glucose after eating, reducing their risk of developing diabetes.
“When we gave these mice sugar, it disappeared from their bloodstream almost immediately,” said study author Yolanda Martinez-Mateos, from the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, in a statement.
“We examined the muscles, brain, and liver… but we didn’t find anything in those organs to explain what was happening,” Martinez-Mateos added.
The team ultimately concluded that red blood cells were the “glucose sink,” a term used to describe anything that draws and utilizes a large amount of glucose from the bloodstream.
Under low-oxygen conditions, the mice not only produced a much larger number of red blood cells but each cell also consumed a greater amount of glucose than red blood cells in normal oxygen levels.
The researchers then tested a drug they developed, called “hypoxystat,” which mimics the effects of low-oxygen air.
They found the drug completely reversed high blood sugar in diabetic mice, and was more effective than currently available medications.
“This discovery opens the door to thinking about treatments for diabetes in a completely different way, by recruiting and transforming red blood cells into glucose drains,” said study participant Aisha Jain, in a statement.
