News & Events
News & Events
IPK Special Seminar:"Rho-kinase as a Molecular Target for Insulin Resistance"
2009-08-17
- Title: Rho-kinase as a Molecular Target for Insulin Resistance
- Speaker: Young-Bum Kim, PhD, Harvard Medical School (CV attached)
- Date & Time: Thursday, September 10, 2009/ 4:00pm~5:00pm
- Venue: Auditorium at Institut Pasteur Korea, Pangyo Techno-valley
- Inquiries: Ms. Sukyon Yang(양석연), Scientific Affairs (Tel: 031-8018-8031, e-mail: symposium@ip-korea.org)
* If you’d like to join the seminar, please contact at symposium@ip-korea.org
- Abstract: "Rho-kinase as a Molecular Target for Insulin Resistance"
Diabetes has increased at an alarming rate in recent years and is now a worldwide public health problem. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, results from a combination of reduced insulin production and a decreased capacity of the body to respond appropriately to the insulin that is made. This last situation is called “insulin resistance”, and it has been the subject of a great deal of investigation. We have now identified a molecule called Rho-kinase as a new player in normal insulin action. Although this molecule has not previously been suspected to participate in glucose metabolism, we show that normal insulin signaling is partially blocked when Rho-kinase is chemically or biologically inhibited. We also show that genetic deletion of Rho-kinase gene results in systemic insulin resistance in vivo. Importantly, Rho-kinase phosphorylates insulin receptor substrate-1 directly, which is an important mediator of insulin action. Furthermore, insulin-stimulated Rho-kinase activity is decreased in the skeletal muscle of obese diabetic mice and humans, suggesting that defective Rho-kinase activity may contribute to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. We thus propose that activation of Rho-kinase is critical for the metabolic action of insulin on glucose transport and insulin signaling through IRS-1-serine phosphorylation. This talk will focus on the physiological role of Rho-kinase in the regulation of glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity, with important implications for strategies to prevent diabetes.
- Speaker: Young-Bum Kim, PhD, Harvard Medical School (CV attached)
- Date & Time: Thursday, September 10, 2009/ 4:00pm~5:00pm
- Venue: Auditorium at Institut Pasteur Korea, Pangyo Techno-valley
- Inquiries: Ms. Sukyon Yang(양석연), Scientific Affairs (Tel: 031-8018-8031, e-mail: symposium@ip-korea.org)
* If you’d like to join the seminar, please contact at symposium@ip-korea.org
- Abstract: "Rho-kinase as a Molecular Target for Insulin Resistance"
Diabetes has increased at an alarming rate in recent years and is now a worldwide public health problem. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, results from a combination of reduced insulin production and a decreased capacity of the body to respond appropriately to the insulin that is made. This last situation is called “insulin resistance”, and it has been the subject of a great deal of investigation. We have now identified a molecule called Rho-kinase as a new player in normal insulin action. Although this molecule has not previously been suspected to participate in glucose metabolism, we show that normal insulin signaling is partially blocked when Rho-kinase is chemically or biologically inhibited. We also show that genetic deletion of Rho-kinase gene results in systemic insulin resistance in vivo. Importantly, Rho-kinase phosphorylates insulin receptor substrate-1 directly, which is an important mediator of insulin action. Furthermore, insulin-stimulated Rho-kinase activity is decreased in the skeletal muscle of obese diabetic mice and humans, suggesting that defective Rho-kinase activity may contribute to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. We thus propose that activation of Rho-kinase is critical for the metabolic action of insulin on glucose transport and insulin signaling through IRS-1-serine phosphorylation. This talk will focus on the physiological role of Rho-kinase in the regulation of glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity, with important implications for strategies to prevent diabetes.