Chinese supercomputer helps combat diabetic complications

Chinese scientists, leveraging one of the world's fastest supercomputers, Tianhe-2, have identified a promising therapeutic strategy for treating diabetic complications.

Located in Guangzhou City, south China's Guangdong Province, the Tianhe-2 supercomputer, which ranks 16th among the top 500 fastest computers worldwide according to a list published by the TOP500 Project last month, has been used as a platform for drug discovery.

Supported by Virtual Screening on Tianhe-2 (VSTH), a high-throughput screening platform running on Tianhe-2, the team led by researchers from Sun Yat-sen University has found that 2MBC, a branched-chain acylcarnitine, can significantly speed up the rate of blood clot formation in the body.

This discovery paves the way for novel therapeutic targets and innovative strategies in combating complications associated with metabolic disorders like diabetes, said the researchers.

The Tianhe-2 team has also vowed to enhance the drug discovery platform, capitalizing on the rich data resources and the platform's superior performance to catalyze groundbreaking innovation in the field of biomedicine.

Diabetes ranks among the most prevalent chronic conditions worldwide. It has the potential to trigger a cascade of complications including blood clot formation, a leading contributor to both disability and mortality within the diabetic population.

The researchers have found that 2MBC exerts a direct influence on platelets, augmenting their capabilities for aggregation, spreading and contraction, and the effect is present in both rodents and humans.

The chemical is a metabolite originating from the gut microbiota, and therefore, pre-treatment with antibiotics to clear the gut bacteria effectively halts this metabolic conversion, according a study published recently in the journal Cell Metabolism.

(With input from Xinhua)