Scientists at the Faculty of Physical Education are researching the development of diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2). A complex experiment on mice will help to pinpoint the stage at which there is a violation of the process of glucose utilization, and find an approach to solving this problem. Diabetes was provoked in rodents, and then they were placed in an enhanced training regime. At the end of the experiment, a molecular genetic analysis will be carried out.
- Patients with diabetes of the second type produce insulin. Insulin of healthy people starts the process of transport of sugar into the muscles, where it is utilized. In patients with diabetes mellitus, this process has been disrupted, - says Leonid Kapilevich, head of the Department of Sports and Health Tourism, Sports Physiology and Medicine at the Faculty of Physical Education. - Along with insulin, a whole cascade of enzymes is involved in the transfer. Our task is to find out which enzyme and at what stage it fails. This will enable new approaches to the treatment of DM2. Currently it is corrected with a continuous strict diet.
In several groups of mice, a model of diabetes mellitus of the second type was formed using specific nutrition. For three months, rodents were given food with a high fat and sugar content. All the symptoms of the disease appeared, the glucose utilization process was disturbed, and the weight of the test mice increased 250% compared with the control group, which was fed on cereal.
The experiment is conducted on laboratory animals. In several groups of mice, a model of diabetes mellitus of the second type was formed using specific nutrition. For three months, rodents were given food with a high content of fat and sugar. As a result, all the symptoms of the disease appeared, the glucose utilization process was disturbed, the weight of the test mice increased 2.5 times compared with the control group, which was fed on cereal feed.
It is known that in some cases, exercise helps to reduce the level of sugar, but what the load - static or dynamic, should be has not yet been established. To find out, the sick mice were transferred to regular physical training: every day, except Sunday, rodents make hourly runs on the simulator. A treadmill for simultaneous training of 10 mice was devised. Every week the load is increased by increasing the speed of movement and the angle of the track.
- One group runs in the morning, the second in the evening - this will allow you to find out what time of day is optimal for training, - says Leonid Kapilevich. - The third group of sick mice does not train, it just normalized food. We want to compare how the process of glucose utilization will go in different groups, including the control ones, where the mice are healthy.
Now the experiment with rodents is approaching the final stage. A comprehensive analysis will be carried out in which DNA, RNA, and proteins from muscle cells, liver, and adipose tissue will be isolated and compared in patients and healthy individuals. Molecular biological studies must show which enzyme stops working and interferes with the process of glucose transport. Along with this, data will be obtained on the physiological processes that occurred in the muscles during workouts, which will enable selecting exercises that are most effective for burning sugar.
In the future, the experiment will be expanded to include middle-aged and elderly animals. Knowing the features of their physiological processes, researchers will be able to propose new solutions for correcting metabolic disorders in older people and thereby improve the quality of human life at pre-retirement and retirement age.