An enzyme that selectively S-nitrosylates proteins to regulate insulin signaling. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38056462/)

These scientists discovered a new enzyme called SCAN that uses a special helper called SNO-CoA to make changes to certain proteins in our body. They found that SCAN can add something called SNO to these proteins, including the insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate 1.

When SCAN adds SNO to these proteins, it can actually reduce the way insulin works in our body, which is important for controlling our blood sugar levels. This is a normal and important process in our body. However, when there is too much SCAN activity, like in obesity, it can cause too much SNO to be added to these proteins, leading to a problem called insulin resistance.

To test this, the scientists studied mice that did not have the SCAN enzyme and found that these mice were protected from developing diabetes. They also looked at human muscle and fat tissues and found that the more overweight people were, the more SCAN enzyme they had, and this was linked to more SNO being added to the insulin receptor.

This discovery is important because it helps us understand how our body controls insulin and how changes in this process can lead to diabetes. It also shows us a new way that a molecule called nitric oxide (NO) can work in our body.

Zhou HL., Grimmett ZW., Venetos NM., Stomberski CT., Qian Z., McLaughlin PJ., Bansal PK., Zhang R., Reynolds JD., Premont RT., Stamler JS. An enzyme that selectively S-nitrosylates proteins to regulate insulin signaling. Cell. 2023 Dec 21;186(26):5812-5825.e21. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.11.009. Epub 2023 Dec 5.