Scientists have begun investigating whether psilocybin, a compound found in magic mushrooms, plays a role in fighting the effects of diabetes, according to a preliminary study published in the journal Neuropsychiatry. genePsilocybin may help prevent the loss of important insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
Psilocybin is a natural hallucinogen found in certain mushroom species. In recent years, the therapeutic effects of psilocybin have begun to be recognized, especially for psychiatric disorders. However, the basis of this research lies in the interaction of psilocybin with serotonin receptors in the brain, which are also present in the pancreas. These receptors play a key role in regulating the production and release of insulin, a process that is often disrupted in diabetes.
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia that over time can lead to serious health complications. The global prevalence of diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate and it is estimated that by 2045, 783 million people may be affected. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, is closely associated with obesity and sedentary lifestyles.
“Diabetes and metabolic syndrome plague society, and we were looking for different ways to contribute to the fight against these diseases,” said study author Igor Kovalchuk, professor of biological sciences at the University of Lethbridge. “Because microdosing of mushrooms could be one of the treatment options for various diseases, we wanted to test whether their active ingredient, psilocybin, also has anti-diabetic effects.”
Central to the development of diabetes is the dysfunction of pancreatic beta cells, which are responsible for producing insulin. When these cells are damaged or lost, the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels is reduced.
In a new study, researchers investigated the effects of psilocybin on pancreatic beta cells exposed to high blood sugar and lipid conditions that mimic the metabolic stress observed in diabetes, using a rat insulinoma cell line, a model known to be relevant to human beta cell function.
Cells cultured in nutrient-rich medium were treated with specific concentrations of psilocybin that were selected based on preliminary results suggesting optimal efficacy. Following psilocybin treatment, the cells were exposed to high glucose and lipid conditions designed to induce the stress and damage typically observed in pancreatic beta cells from diabetic patients.
The researchers found that psilocybin-treated cells had significantly greater survival rates than untreated cells, suggesting that psilocybin has a protective effect on beta cells, helping to alleviate the adverse effects of metabolic stress associated with diabetes.
Further analysis provided insight into the mechanism behind psilocybin's protective effects. Western blot analysis revealed that psilocybin treatment reduced the levels of several key apoptotic biomarkers in beta cells exposed to hyperglycemia and high lipid levels. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, plays a key role in beta cell loss in diabetes, and the ability of psilocybin to reduce markers associated with this process suggests that it may preserve beta cell mass in the diabetic state.
“We didn't expect that psilocybin would work so well on pancreatic cells,” Kovalchuk said.
Psilocybin also appears to affect the expression of genes associated with beta-cell dedifferentiation, a process in which mature insulin-producing beta cells revert to a more primitive state and lose the ability to produce insulin effectively.
The findings provide preliminary evidence that “microdosing of magic mushrooms is likely to have a positive effect on people with metabolic syndrome (prediabetes) and diabetes,” Kovalchuk told PsyPost.
Interestingly, despite these positive effects on cell survival and dedifferentiation, the researchers observed that psilocybin did not significantly improve impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) under hyperglycemic and hyperlipidic conditions. This finding indicates that while psilocybin can protect β-cells from death and dedifferentiation, it may not directly enhance the functional response to glucose in the context of metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
Although this study is a pioneering study in exploring the potential therapeutic effects of psilocybin on pancreatic β-cells in diabetes, it contains several limitations that will shape the direction of future research: First, the study was performed using a rat insulinoma cell line, which, although valuable for initial investigations, does not fully recapitulate the complex physiological and metabolic interactions that occur in vivo.
“Animal studies are needed to see if this research has the desired effect.” In vitro” Kovalchuk pointed out.
Furthermore, this study focused on the effects of psilocybin under the specific circumstances of hyperglycemia and lipid-induced stress, representing only one aspect of diabetic pathology.Diabetes is a multifactorial disease with a wide range of pathophysiological features, including insulin resistance, inflammation, and, in the case of type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune component.
The researchers ultimately hope to explore whether psilocybin could benefit human diabetes patients, Kovalchuk said. “We're always looking for more natural, traditional and holistic ways to treat disease.”
the study, “Effects of psilocybin on hyperglycemia/lipid-induced changes in INS-1 cell viability and dedifferentiation” was written by Esmaeel Ghasemi Gojani, Bo Wang, Dong-Ping Li, Olga Kovalchuk, and Igor Kovalchuk.