OU Diabetes Researcher Identifies Potential New Target for Type 2 Diabetes

OKLAHOMA CITY – A protein called Miro1 found at elevated levels in the skeletal muscle of people with type 2 diabetes may contribute to insulin resistance, potentially making it a target for future treatments that help the body regulate blood sugar, according to a study published today in Nature Communications. Researchers found that removing Miro1 restored the muscles’ response to insulin in preclinical models, while exercise reduced the protein’s levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

The study was led by senior author John P. Kirwan, Ph.D., recently named executive director of the OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center at the University of Oklahoma. He conducted the research while at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University and now brings his internationally recognized translational research program to OU, where he will build on his work to advance the understanding and treatment of diabetes. The study’s first author is Elizabeth Heintz, a doctoral candidate at Pennington Biomedical, and the co-corresponding author is Christopher Axelrod, Ph.D., who has since joined Kirwan at the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center.

Miro1 (Mitochondrial Rho GTPase1) is a protein found on the outer membrane of mitochondria, the structures inside cells that produce energy. To better understand its role in diabetes, Kirwan and his team examined the protein in cells, preclinical models and people with type 2 diabetes. This approach allowed the researchers to investigate Miro1’s effects on muscle function from the cellular level to its potential relevance in people with the disease.

“Insulin resistance in muscle is at the heart of type 2 diabetes, and its molecular causes have remained frustratingly unclear. This study, the product of years of work, identifies Miro1 as a key part of the answer. By tracing Miro1 from cells to preclinical models to patients, we show that Miro1 accumulation impairs the muscle’s response to insulin, that removing it causally restores that response in our models, and that exercise reverses its buildup in people. For the field, this is a new therapeutic target. For patients, it deepens our understanding of why exercise is so effective and opens a path toward treatments that could one day complement it,” Kirwan said. He also serves as Vice Provost for Diabetes Programs at the University of Oklahoma and holds the Chickasaw Nation Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research.

Researchers established the role of exercise through a randomized controlled trial involving people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, in which they compared aerobic exercise with standard medical care. Participants in the exercise group experienced reductions in muscle Miro1 levels, along with improvements in insulin sensitivity and the muscles’ ability to produce energy.

Although more research is needed to determine whether targeting Miro1 could lead to new treatments, the findings provide a foundation for further investigation into the causes of insulin resistance. At the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center, Kirwan will continue this translational research, connecting laboratory studies with studies in people to better understand the biological mechanisms underlying diabetes and identify potential new approaches to preventing and treating the disease.

“Type 2 diabetes is an affliction in Oklahoma and nationally,” he said. “Ultimately, we are looking for cures, and we hope these recent findings could be part of the solution.”

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About the project

The paper, “Miro1 mediates skeletal muscle insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes,” can be found at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77278-6. The research was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute on Aging, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

About the University of Oklahoma

Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university with campuses in Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and healthcare needs of the state, region and nation. In Oklahoma City, the OU Harold Hamm Health Campus is one of the nation’s few academic health centers with seven health profession colleges located on the same campus. The OU Harold Hamm Health Campus serves approximately 4,000 students in more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degree programs spanning Oklahoma City and Tulsa and is the leading research institution in Oklahoma. For more information about the OU Harold Hamm Health Campus, visit www.ouhsc.edu.