Sea Snail, Human Insulin Hybrid Could Lead to Better Diabetes Treatments Sea Snail, Human Insulin Hybrid Could Lead to Better Diabetes Treatments Sea Snail, Human Insulin Hybrid Could Lead to Better Diabetes Treatments Sea Snail, Human Insul

Nearly a century after insulin was discovered, an international team of researchers including University of Utah Health scientists report that they have developed the world’s smallest, fully functional version of the hormone, one that combines the potency of human insulin with the fast-acting potential of a venom insulin produced by predatory cone snails. The finding, based on animal studies, could jumpstart the development of insulin treatments capable of improving the lives of those with diabetes.

Diabetes reversed in mice with genetically edited stem cells derived from patients

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have used induced pluripotent stem cells produced from the skin of a patient with a rare, genetic form of insulin-dependent diabetes, transformed the stem cells into insulin-producing cells, used the CRISPR gene-editing tool to correct a defect that caused a form of diabetes, and implanted the cells into mice to reverse diabetes in the animals.

Wearable delivery device allows patients with type 2 diabetes to safely use more affordable insulin option

Adults with type 2 diabetes requiring insulin therapy can safely achieve good blood sugar control using regular human insulin (RHI) in a wearable, patch-like insulin delivery device called V-Go®, a new study finds. Results of the randomized controlled study—which was accepted for presentation at ENDO 2020, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, and will be published in a special supplemental section of the Journal of the Endocrine Society—suggest “a more affordable option” for insulin therapy than newer insulin types, the researchers said.

Diabetes care reaches new heights as drone delivers insulin for patient

The international medical team that accomplished the world’s first documented drone delivery of insulin for a patient living in a remote community described the project in an ENDO 2020 abstract that will be published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

Researchers discover a new way in which insulin interacts with its receptor

The biological actions of insulin are mediated by its receptor—the insulin receptor—which is localized on the cell surface. In a new study, researchers from Germany, Canada, and Finland show how insulin interacts with its receptor at a second binding site. The scientists hope that these new details concerning insulin–receptor interactions will ultimately expand the current models of insulin binding to its receptor and pave the way towards new approaches to structure-based drug design.

Researchers engineer insulin-producing cells activated by light for diabetes

Researchers have transplanted engineered pancreatic beta cells into diabetic mice, then caused the cells to produce more than two to three times the typical level of insulin by exposing them to light. The light-switchable cells are designed to compensate for the lower insulin production or reduced insulin response found in diabetic individuals.