Limostatin: Insulin-Decreasing Hormone Discovered
Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - 17:40
in Health & Medicine
An insulin-regulating hormone that had only been postulated to exist has been discovered.The hormone, called limostatin after the Greek goddess of starvation, Limos, tamps down circulating insulin levels during recovery from fasting or starvation. In this way, it ensures that precious nutrients remain in the blood long enough to rebuild starving tissues, rather than being rapidly squirreled away into less-accessible fat cells. The researchers first discovered limostatin in fruit flies but then quickly identified a protein with a similar function in humans. read more