In order to develop hybrid insulin molecules that are efficient in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, researchers investigated the use of snail venom insulins in the lab.
Insulin hormones are found in all mammals and are responsible for the regulation of sugar metabolism in the body. Minimal structural differences exist between the various insulin hormones in different forms.
In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, which results in diabetes mellitus (also known as type 1 diabetes). Patients with this ailment require insulin injections on a daily basis, which they must get through a vein.
The insulin that is injected into the body does not begin to work immediately, which is a problem in this kind of treatment. Insulin molecules have a tendency to polymerize into chains ranging in length from two to six units. The fact that this scenario allows for greater insulin storage in the pancreas, however, causes a problem when it comes to therapeutic insulin injections into the body.
ImageSnail Venom
Long polymer chains are unable to pass through the bloodstream and enter the body. In order for the injected fluid to have an effect on blood sugar levels, the polymer chains must be broken down and insulin molecules must emerge. A difficult aspect of this challenge is that the sections where insulin molecules link to one another and the regions where they attach to insulin receptors are the same, which makes finding a solution particularly complex.
A consequence of this is that any intervention designed to impede polymerization at the sites where molecules link to one another can also prevent insulin molecules from attaching to receptors.
Cone-shell snails are made up of approximately 150 different species, all of which are related. Because of the poisons released by these predatory marine animals, they have a negative effect on fish. During her studies at the University of Utah a few years ago, Helena Safavi-Hemami discovered that the venom of Conus geographus snails contains insulin, something she had not previously known.
Fish exposed to insulin experienced a rapid reduction in blood sugar levels, which rendered them paralyzed and vulnerable to snail attack. The discovery that Conus geographus was not the only snail species whose venom contained insulin occurred during this time period became apparent. Furthermore, in contrast to human insulin, these insulin hormones do not polymerize and remain as single molecules during their entire life cycle.
Safavi-Hemami and colleagues have been investigating whether the insulins found in snail venom can be utilized to treat type 1 diabetes for many years. In a press release, the researchers stated that they had developed hybrid insulin molecules based on the structure and function of insulin found in the venom of two snail species, Conus geographus and Conus kinoshitai.
While hybrid insulins are capable of binding to insulin receptors in human cells, unlike the insulins found in snail venom, they do not polymerize. Hybrid insulins may prove valuable in the development of injectable therapies for type 1 diabetic patients who require a faster acting insulin.
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