Insulin in a Pill? New Research Answers a Question That Has Puzzled Diabetes Researchers for 100 Years - SciTechDaily

In individuals with diabetes, the body is either not producing enough insulin or is unable to use it effectively, leading to high blood sugar levels.

The WEHI-led study opens new avenues for the development of drugs that could replace daily insulin injections for people with type 1 diabetes.

L-R: Professor Mike Lawrence, Dr. Nicholas Kirk, and Mai Margetts have produced the first 3D images of an insulin-mimicking molecule interacting with the insulin receptor.

The study, published in Nature Communications, was led by WEHI’s Dr. Nicholas Kirk and Professor Mike Lawrence, in collaboration with researchers from Lilly, an American-based pharmaceutical company.

The team performed intricate cryo-EM reconstructions to obtain blueprints of several molecules called “peptides” that are known to interact with the insulin receptor and hold it in the “active” position.

Reference: “Activation of the human insulin receptor by non-insulin-related peptides” by Nicholas S. Kirk, Qi Chen, Yingzhe Ginger Wu, Anastasia L. Asante, Haitao Hu, Juan F. Espinosa, Francisco Martínez-Olid, Mai B. Margetts, Faiz A. Mohammed, Vladislav V. Kiselyov, David G. Barrett and Michael C. Lawrence, 28 September 2022, Nature Communications.