Insulin suppresses swelling triggers.

• Position: Endocrinology - Brief article

Researchers who first identified the anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties of insulin have discovered one pathway through which the hormone produces the effect. Insulin appears to suppress a particular group of inflammatory mediators known as toll-like receptors, or TLRs, which are a variety of pattern recognition receptors that identify bacterial and viral products and other pathogens.

Insulin interferes with the expression of several types of TLRs, likely by suppressing a specific transcription factor known as PU.1--which regulates TLR expression. "We reported earlier that an infusion of low-dose insulin exerts a quick, powerful anti-inflammatory effect in diabetic patients," notes Paresh Dandona, senior researcher on the project and chief of Kaleida Health's Division on Endocrinology and director of...