Diebetes is a huge problem millions of Americans deal with on a daily basis but what if human insulins were not the best insulins? Researchers in Australia and the U.S. have teamed up and studies have shown that the insulin found in the venom of cone snails can bind to human insulin receptors. Human insulins have to be be structurally altered before they are able to function correctly where the snail insulin is already structurally correct and can immediately bind to the receptors. Without the structural change happening, the snail insulin can bind and speed up the cell signaling process. The researchers are now trying to use this information to design new treatments. I personally do not have to ever deal with diabetes but I know many people that do. Research like this can definitely help many people get the immediate shot of insulin they need and it can start helping faster and more effectively. Hopefully this will be able to be a long term fix and will be something that is not too cost effective or hard to come by.
To read more information: http://www.wehi.edu.au/news/snail-venom-holds-key-better-diabetes-treatments
This also seems like it would be very helpful in an emergency situation. But, it is intriguing that human insulin has to be structurally altered in order to function.
ReplyDeleteMorgan-
ReplyDeleteWhat I find to be the most fascinating part of this study was that the researchers determined that human insulin has an extra hinge that slows down cellular processes, but through examination of the structure and function of the insulin in snail venom they figured out how to remove this hinge process altogether; thus, increasing the speed of cell signaling. It is amazing how we can use the study of other organisms to discover more about our own functions and possibly cure disease. Usually, one associated a negative connotation with venom. But, this study shows that venom can be beneficial. If one animal’s venom can assist in the production of faster-acting insulin for diabetes treatments, what can all the other venoms in the world do?
To understand this article more, I looked up what a cone snail actually was and found that it is a marine snail that uses the insulin-based venom to attacks it prey. This article makes you wonder how they came to the idea to test out this specific snail for signs of insulin. It fascinating how they found a function to remove the hinge process from the insulin in the snail and use this to find out that this will cause a faster cell signaling process and increase the speed of how the insulin reacts. How do you feel this discovery will benefit people with diabetes and do you think this method will be more expensive than the current one?
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly why it's a mistake to denigrate research programs on the basis of applicability. If someone hadn't been super interested in what microbes grew in geysers and hot-springs, molecular biology would have not advanced at the rate it has.
ReplyDeleteUpon researching this topic further, I also found that one type of Queensland cone snail contains toxins in its venom that could be helpful in drug discovery. It's crazy to think of the impact cone snail venom could have on medicine.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to the article: http://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/E3782.full