Researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered how insulin crosses the capillary endothelium to exit blood vessels and stimulate skeletal muscle cells — a major finding that may lead to new ways to reverse insulin resistance, a hallmark of type 2 diabetes.
Their discovery, published earlier this month by the Journal of Clinical Investigation, was made possible by the development of a novel microscopy technique which allowed measurement of insulin movement across the endothelial wall of skeletal muscle capillaries in the mouse.
“The muscle capillary wall is a formidable barrier to insulin’s action on muscles,” said David Wasserman, PhD, the Annie Mary Lyle Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics.
Read the rest of the article here.