New regulator of liver metabolism discovered

(Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin) Researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have identified an enzyme that has a major effect on glucose utilization in liver cells. The enzyme, retinol saturase, helps these cells adapt to variations in glucose levels. However, when glucose levels are consistently too high, retinol saturase appears to exert a damaging effect on cells. Results from this study have been published in the journal Nature Communications*.