Lilly Foundation awards a study of protein kinase in liver disease

Source: Actasanitaria.com

Within the framework of the 41st Annual Congress of the Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM), which is being held in Santander, the Lilly Pharmaceutical Company Foundation has awarded the Margarita Lorenzo 2018 Scientific Prize to the researcher and biochemist Patricia Rada, who is a member of the Alberto Sols Biomedical Research Institute (IIBM) and the Biomedical Network Research Center for Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM), for his study on the role of protein kinase PKD1 in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) ).

This research concludes that PKD1 could protect against the progression of liver pathologies such as NAFLD itself and insulin resistance. In this context, the author explained that “in recent years there has been an alarming worldwide increase in the incidence of obesity, as well as diabetes mellitus type II and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.”

For these reasons, Patricia Rada said that, since its incorporation in 2015 to the laboratory of Dr. Angela Valverde, focused on the search for new molecular targets that may be involved in these pathological processes.

Previous studies on PKD1 protein kinase reveal its involvement in a number of important biological processes, including cell proliferation, polarity, migration and differentiation, membrane trafficking, pain transmission, inflammation, angiogenesis , cardiac contractility, hypertrophy and cancer.

Related pathologies
However, its involvement in hepatic metabolism, as well as in related diseases, had not yet been studied. For this reason, Ángela Valverde’s scientific team decided to analyze this protein in relation to liver pathologies.

The award ‘Margarita Lorenzo’, awarded by the Lilly Foundation, recognizes the best work presented to the Annual Congress of the SEBBM by young researchers under 35 years and aims to identify and promote quality research in the thematic field of ‘Diabetes, obesity and metabolic regulation ‘.

From distefar we want to congratulate Patricia Rada and her team for their effort and dedication and the Lilly Foundation for this great initiative.