UCLA bioingenier (United States) have developed a new type of insulin that is currently being evaluated for possible clinical trials, which could help prevent hypoglycemia in people with diabetes.
In general, people who need to use insulin control their blood sugar levels with a glucose meter or a continuous glucose monitoring system and then calculate their insulin dose accordingly.An insulin overdose can cause hypoglycemia when blood sugar is too low, which could lead to seizures, coma and, in extreme cases, death.
Within the body, insulin acts as a "key" to help glucose enter the blood torrent cells.When the insulin adheres to the surface of a cell, it activates a protein inside the cell, called glucose transporter, which then makes its way to the surface of the cell.This molecule then carries the surrounding glucose of the blood to the cell.
The team led by UCLA has developed a type of 'intelligent' insulin, called 'I-Insulin', which can prevent blood sugar levels from falling too much.To do this, at work, published in 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Science', added an additional molecule to insulin to create the new intelligent insulin.
This aggregate molecule, called glucose transporter inhibitor, chemically blocks the glucose conveyor molecule that has come to the surface.Its presence does not block the entry of all glucose, nor permanently blocks the conveyor molecules, but is part of a dynamic process that depends on the number of inhibitors and glucose molecules present.
"Our new 'i-insulin' works as an 'smart' key. Insulin allows glucose to enter the cell, but the aggregate inhibitory molecule prevents it from entering too much when blood sugar is normal. This keeps sugar inBlood at normal levels and reduces the risk of hypoglycemia, "experts have explained, to report that they can also respond quickly to high glucose levels.
The research team led by UCLA has tested the 'smart' insulin in mice with type 1 diabetes. I-insulin 'controls glucose levels within the normal range for up to 10 hours after the first injection and, a second injectionThree hours later, he extended protection against hypoglycemia.
"The next step is to evaluate the long -term biocompatibility of the insulin system modified in an animal model before determining whether to go to clinical trials," researchers have settled.
