First fruit fly model of diet-induced type 2 diabetes shows how high-sugar diet affects the heart and reveals new therapeutic opportunities
Regularly consuming sucrose—the type of sugar found in many sweetened beverages—increases a person’s risk of heart disease. In a study published January 10 in the journal PLOS Genetics, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and Mount Sinai School of Medicine used fruit flies, a well-established model for human health and disease, to determine exactly how sucrose affects heart function. In addition, the researchers discovered that blocking this cellular mechanism prevents sucrose-related heart problems.
“Our study reveals a number of specific sugar-processing enzymes that could be targeted with therapies aimed at reducing sucrose’s unhealthy effects on the heart,” said Karen Ocorr, Ph.D., research assistant professor at Sanford-Burnham and the study’s corresponding author.
