Welcome, visitor! [ Login

Cone Snail Venom Reveals Insulin Insights

Uncategorized January 9, 2024

Cone Snail Venom Reveals Insulin Insights

The marine cone snail has an unusual survival mechanism that offers new insights for managing diabetes. The snail releases an insulin-containing venom that acts within seconds to stun nearby fish, so they’re easier to capture and eat. Scientists have been fascinated by how rapidly this insulin works compared to human insulin.

Insulin is important for people because it helps maintain blood sugar (glucose) levels. When glucose levels rise, such as after a meal, insulin is released into the bloodstream and travels throughout the body. When insulin binds to special cell-surface structures called receptors, it triggers cells to take in the glucose needed for energy. Diabetes arises when this process doesn’t work correctly. Many people rely on injections of synthetic insulin to manage their diabetes, and rapid action can be crucial.

Human insulin is stored in the body in clusters of 6. To work, the 6 parts must first separate, which might take up to an hour. In contrast, the insulin in cone snails is small and fast acting. It lacks the portion that would hold insulin clusters together.

An NIH-supported research team, based partly at the University of Utah, analyzed the 3-D structure of cone snail insulin. Despite its smaller structure, the snail insulin could bind and turn on the human insulin receptor.

We found that cone snail venom insulins work faster than human insulins by avoiding the structural changes that human insulins undergo in order to function—they are essentially primed and ready to bind to their receptors,” says study coauthor Dr. Michael Lawrence of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia.

These findings provide insights that could help scientists design rapid-acting insulins that might help to manage diabetes.

No Tags

3328 total views, 1 today

  

Sponsored Links

  • Diabetes and Risk for Heart Disease and Stroke

    by on January 6, 2024 - 0 Comments

    Diabetes and Risk for Heart Disease and Stroke Having type 2 diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular events, like stroke or heart attack. For nearly a decade, NIH has supported a large clinical trial called the ACCORD study. It aimed to find ways to reduce the likelihood of cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes who […]

  • Think Twice Before Eating White Rice?

    by on January 8, 2024 - 0 Comments

    Think Twice Before Eating White Rice? Eating more white rice raised the risk for type 2 diabetes in a large clinical study, whereas eating more brown rice reduced the risk. Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest growing health problems in Americans of all ages. Being overweight or inactive increases your chances of developing […]

  • Cone Snail Venom Reveals Insulin Insights

    by on January 9, 2024 - 0 Comments

    Cone Snail Venom Reveals Insulin Insights A marine cone snail hunting a fish. Photo courtesy of Dr. Baldomero Olivera, University of Utah The marine cone snail has an unusual survival mechanism that offers new insights for managing diabetes. The snail releases an insulin-containing venom that acts within seconds to stun nearby fish, so they’re easier to […]

  • How Your Eating Habits Affect Your Health

    by on January 10, 2024 - 0 Comments

    How Your Eating Habits Affect Your Health   A healthy eating plan lowers your risk for heart disease and other health conditions. m-imagephotography/iStock/Thinkstock A new study shows how the things you eat can influence your risk of dying from heart disease, stroke, or type 2 diabetes. The findings suggest ways to change your eating habits to […]

  • Healthy Body, Happy Heart

    by on January 7, 2024 - 0 Comments

    Healthy Body, Happy Heart Improve Your Heart Health Every moment of the day, your heart is pumping blood throughout your body. In silent moments, you can hear the thump-thump-thump of its demanding work. Do you take your heart for granted? Most of us will have heart trouble at some point in our lives. Heart disease […]