Dr. Jun Wada, professor of the department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism at Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and his colleagues have discovered for the first time in the world that the cell adhesion molecule called “adipocyte adhesion molecule (ACAM)” prevents the development of metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

The findings were published online March 8, 2016 in “ Diabetes”.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26956488

ACAM is a molecule that this research group discovered in 2005 from the visceral fat tissue of obese rats. It is a cell adhesion molecule that is responsible for the adhesion of cells to each other. This time, the research group bred mice that increased the ACAM of the fat cells with a high fat and high sucrose diet. Obesity, diabetes, and the onset of dyslipidemia were prevented from those transgenic mice.

The prevention of ischemic heart disease associated with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, cerebral infarction, and chronic kidney disease is a very important issue for the health promotion of the people. In the future, if the development of the new treatment method using the cell adhesion molecule, it is expected to prevent obesity and diabetes. It will also lead to the maintenance and the extension of healthy life expectancy.

Contact information

Mototaka Senda, Ph.D.
Director, Okayama University Silicon Valley Office
Organization for research Promotion and Collaboration, Okayama University
2450 Peralta Blvd. #222
Fremont, CA 94536

Jun Wada Ph.D.
Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism
Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences