Within our bodies, high levels of reactive forms of oxygen can damage proteins and contribute to diabetic complications and many other diseases. But some studies are showing that these reactive oxygen species (ROS) molecules sometimes can aid in maintaining health–findings now boosted by a surprising discovery from Joslin Diabetes Center researchers.
Led by Keith Blackwell, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Research Director and co-head of the Section on Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology at Joslin Diabetes Center and Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, the scientists studied a protein known as IRE-1 in the outer membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an “organelle” in the cell that synthesizes proteins such as insulin.
