An international collaboration co-led by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute has made a discovery that could make therapeutic insulins more effective by better mimicking the way insulin works in the body. The findings could improve treatments for diabetes, a disease that impacts the lives of millions of people worldwide.
Published today in Nature Communications, the study reveals the first definitive 3D image of how insulin successfully interacts with its receptor – a ‘gatekeeper’ for transmitting information into cells – in a process that is crucial for instructing cells to lower blood sugar levels in the body. Understanding exactly what this process looks like could inform the design of faster-acting and longer-lasting insulin therapies.
