A gene that helps beat type 2 diabetes has been discovered in the body's fat cells, according to a group of scientists.
Researchers from the Harvard Medical School in the US, discovered that, contrary to popular belief, fatty adipose tissue can benefit the body's metabolism.
Research showed how the gene, ChREBP, resists diabetes by converting glucose sugar into fatty acids. It also boosts sensitivity to insulin, the vital hormone that regulates blood sugar.
However, in most obese people, sugar is blocked from entering fat cells and blood sugar levels rise. Eventually, this leads to insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes, which affects more than two million people in the UK.
Scientists believe the findings could lead to new treatments for diabetes and other metabolic diseases. They add to previous research based on 123 fat samples from non-diabetic people which showed the gene was more active in those whose bodies had a better sugar balance.
The fat gene's activity also correlated with insulin sensitivity in obese, non-diabetic people.
"The general concept of fat as all bad is not true," said lead investigator Dr Mark Herman, from Harvard Medical School in the US.
"Obesity is commonly associated with metabolic dysfunction that puts people at higher risk for diabetes, stroke and heart disease, but there is a large percentage of obese people who are metabolically healthy. We started with a mouse model that disassociates obesity from its adverse effects."
Dr Herman's team tweaked a "glucose transporter" gene in obese mice that serves as a gateway for sugar. Usually, its activity in fat cells drops with obesity.
The scientists found that when they increased glucose transporter levels in obese mice - allowing more sugar into their fat cells - they were protected against diabetes. Conversely, normal weight mice missing the glucose transporter gene developed diabetes symptoms.
The research showed sugar in fat cells triggered a response from the ChREBP gene that regulated insulin sensitivity throughout the body. The findings appear in the online edition of the journal Nature.
This research comes after it was revealed that diabetes complications were at an all-time high.
If you're worried about diabetes, take a look at HuffPost Lifestyle's round-up of foods that help fight type 2 diabetes in women.
