title: The benefits of restraint: a pivotal role for IL-13 in hepatic glucose homeostasis.
abstract: In response to feeding, insulin promotes the uptake of sugar in peripheral tissues and suppresses the production of sugar, a process called gluconeogenesis, in the liver. Recent research has shown that chronic inflammation promotes insulin resistance, and in turn, chronically high glucose levels can drive inflammation. In this issue of the JCI, Stanya et al. investigate the connection between inflammation and glucose homeostasis by analyzing the effect of the antiinflammatory cytokine IL-13. Their results suggest that IL-13 plays an unexpected role in the regulation of glucose homeostasis by modulating gluconeogenesis and may be a useful therapeutic target for treatment of diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Mariana Verdelho
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: Yiping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Anna Mae
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Diehl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018793:Interleukin-13; D005947:Glucose