New diabetes target

Researchers have found a small molecule that successfully treats a diabetes-like condition in worms and that also hits a previously unknown diabetes target, the enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). The work, by Young-Tae Chang of New York University and his coworkers, not only exemplifies the value of the chemical genetics approach they used to identify the agent but also could lead to a new class of diabetes medications (Nat. Chem. Biol., DOI: 10.1038/nchembio833). The researchers used a mutant form of Caenorhabditis elegans that can't grow to its normal size as a worm model of diabetes. By soaking the worms in a solution containing small molecules from a chemical library, they found a compound (shown) that "rescues" the worms and permits them to grow normally. They also confirmed that GAPDH is the agent's molecular target. Thus, GAPDH is a potential new pathway for diabetes treatment, as well as obesity and aging research, they note.