Injection of “Smart Insulin” Regulates Blood Glucose Levels for One Week
upstart writes:
Tests in animals show the material works like the body's own system:
People with type I diabetes have to inject themselves multiple times a day with manufactured insulin to maintain healthy levels of the hormone, as their bodies do not naturally produce enough. The injections also have to be timed in response to eating and exercise, as any consumption or use of glucose has to be managed.
Research into glucose-responsive insulin, or "smart" insulin, hopes to improve the quality of life for people with type I diabetes by developing a form of insulin that needs to be injected less frequently, while providing control of blood-glucose levels over a longer period of time.
A team at Zhejiang University, China, has recently released a study documenting an improved smart insulin system in animal models-the current work doesn't involve any human testing. Their insulin was able to regulate blood-glucose levels for a week in diabetic mice and minipigs after a single subcutaneous injection.
[...] The new smart insulin is based on a form of insulin modified with gluconic acid, which forms a complex with a polymer through chemical bonds and strong electrostatic attraction. When insulin is trapped in the polymer, its signaling function is blocked, allowing a week's worth of insulin to be given via a single injection without a risk of overdose.
Crucial to the "glucose responsive" nature of this system is the fact that the chemical structures of glucose and gluconic acid are extremely similar, meaning the two molecules bind in very similar ways. When glucose meets the insulin-polymer complex, it can displace some of the bound insulin and form its own chemical bonds to the polymer. Glucose binding also disrupts the electrostatic attraction and further promotes insulin release.
[...] This system mimics the body's natural process, in which insulin is also released in response to glucose.
[...] The study is not without its limitations. Although long-term glucose regulation was seen in the mice and minipigs examined, only a few animals were involved in the study-five mice and three minipigs. And of course, there's always the risk that the results of animal studies don't completely track over to clinical trials in humans. "We have to accept that these are animal studies, and so going across to humans is always a bit of an issue," said Bain.
Although more research is required before this smart insulin system can be tested in humans, this work is a promising step forward in the field.
Journal Reference:
Zhang, Juan, Wei, Xiangqian, Liu, Wei, et al. Week-long norm glycaemia in diabetic mice and minipigs via a subcutaneous dose of a glucose-responsive insulin complex, Nature Biomedical Engineering (DOI: 10.1038/s41551-023-01138-7)
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