News Signal Transduction
The body’s “glucostat” identified
06 Mar 2018
It is the pancreatic islets that have the overall responsibility for maintaining normal blood glucose levels in our bodies, according to a new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, USA. The findings, published in the...
Method developed that gives researchers better conditions for studying insulin-producing cells
09 Aug 2017
Researchers have established a unique method enabling them to study the function of insulin-producing cells under conditions that are similar to those in humans. This can pave the way to development of new medicines for the treatment of diabetes. Beta cells in the pancreas produce the hormone...
KI professor shares award with historical celebrities
18 Apr 2017
Per-Olof Berggren, professor of experimental endocrinology at KI, has been elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Science. He share this distinguished award with historical celebrities, such as Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela. Professor Per-Olof Berggren is a...
Per-Olof Berggren appointed Distinguished Professor in Italy
24 Oct 2016
Professor Per-Olof Berggren has been appointed Distinguished Professor at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy. Per-Olof Berggren , Professor of Experimental Endocrinology and Research Group Leader of the group Signal Transduction at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery. Research...
Professor Per-Olof Berggren elected member of the National Academy of Medicine
18 Oct 2016
Per-Olof Berggren , Professor of Experimental Endocrinology at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, has been elected as member of the National Academy of Medicine, NAM. The National Academy of Medicine announced the election of 70 U.S. members and 9 international...
New non-invasive method for studying the development of insulin-producing cells
04 Apr 2016
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have produced a unique method for monitoring the development of insulin-producing cells, which play a key part in regulating blood glucose concentration. The method, which is described in the journal Diabetologia...
Insulin-secreting cells report on insulin resistance
22 Feb 2016
Diabetes researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a novel technique that makes it possible to monitor insulin resistance in a non-invasive manner over time in mice. The new method, presented in the journal Scientific Reports , can be used to assess insulin resistance during progression...
Type 2 diabetes drug can exhaust insulin-producing cells
12 Feb 2016
Long-term use of liraglutide, a substance that helps to lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, can have a deteriorating effect on insulin-producing beta cells, leading to an increase in blood sugar levels. This according to a study on mice implanted with human insulin-producing...
Novel mechanism of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes
17 Sep 2015
Insensitivity to insulin, also called insulin resistance, is associated with type 2 diabetes and affects several cell types and organs in the body. Now, scientists from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet have discovered a mechanism that explains how insulin-producing cells can be insulin resistant and...
New knowledge about how type 2 diabetes develops
19 May 2015
An international research team, led from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, have presented new knowledge about what happens when type 2 diabetes develops. By studying the insulin-producing beta cells in mice in real time, they have managed to identify a key part of the process that leads to the death...
Young vessels rejuvenate aged insulin-producing beta cells
18 Nov 2014
A recent study published in the journal PNAS shows that young capillary vessels rejuvenate aged pancreatic islets. The finding challenges prevailing views on the causes of age-dependent impaired glucose balance regulation, a condition that often develops into diabetes type 2. The international...
Study explains the link between cilia and diabetes
06 Nov 2014
Tiny extensions on cells, cilia, play an important role in insulin release, according to a new study, which is published in Nature Communications . The researchers report that the cilia of beta cells in the pancreas are covered with insulin receptors and that changed ciliary function can be...
Mechanism behind age-dependent diabetes discovered
17 Sep 2014
Ageing of insulin-secreting cells is coupled to a progressive decline in signal transduction and insulin release, according to a recent study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The finding, which is published in the journal Diabetes , provides a new molecular mechanism underlying...
KI researchers win Wallenberg Scholarship
12 Dec 2012
The Wallenberg Scholars programme supports and stimulates some of the most successful researchers at Swedish universities. Two researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now been awarded SEK 15 million each to be divided over a period of five years. Per-Olof Berggren Per-Olof Berggren, professor of...
Prizes awarded for diabetes and metabolism research
19 Sep 2012
Two researchers at Karolinska Institutet are to be rewarded for their scientific achievements, which are potentially of major significance to the treatment of diseases such as type II diabetes. Professor Per-Olof Berggren receives the Axel Hirsch Prize for his discoveries on insulin release in the...