Regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism by the transcriptional repressor BCL6 in liver

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a rapidly growing epidemic and leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Its prevalence emphasizes the need to better understand metabolic disease and create effective therapies. Indeed, existing treatments for T2DM are limited and accompanied by side effects, so an important challenge is to identify new pharmacologic targets. The liver is a key regulatory organ for glucose and lipids, and alterations in liver production of glucose and lipids are characteristic features in diabetic patients. The proposed research will reveal a new role for a gene, known as BCL6, to control glucose and lipid metabolism through its functions in the liver. Importantly, the BCL6 gene encodes a druggable protein that impacts the levels of many important glucose and lipid metabolic genes. Thus, insights from this study may identify a new therapeutic strategy to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus.