New "smart insulin" could automatically adjust blood sugar in type 1 diabetes patients.
Researchers created -PBA-F, which is a long-lasting "smart" insulin that automatically activates when blood sugar levels get too high, University of Utah Health Sciences reported. One injection was found to last for 14 hours in mice, even if they consumed sugar.
"This is an important advance in insulin therapy," says co-first author Danny Chou, Ph.D., USTAR investigator and assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Utah. "Our insulin derivative appears to control blood sugar better than anything that is available to diabetes patients right now." He will continue evaluating the long-term safety and efficacy of Ins-PBA-F. The insulin derivative could reach Phase 1 human clinical trials in two to five years."
Despite modern advances in diabetes treatment such as insulin pumps, patients are still required to manually adjust how much insulin they receive, leaving the potential for error. This new breakthrough could reduce the dangers associated with inaccurate insulin dosing.
Many "smart" insulin variations under development rely on a protein-based barrier such as gel to inhibit its effects when blood sugar is low, but this can lead to unwanted side effects and immune responses. Ins-PBA-F is different because it is created through the chemical modification of insulin, leading to a long-acting insulin derivative that has the chemical moiety phenylboronic acid (PBA) at one end. Under normal conditions ns-PBA-F binds to serum proteins in the bloodstream to block its activity. But when blood sugar rises high, glucose sugars bind PBA and triggers the release of Ins-PBA-F. Since the method is a modified version of a natural hormone, it is believed to be safe enough to use on a daily basis.
"Before, a 'smart' insulin really meant delivering insulin differently," Chou said. "Ins-PBA-F fits the true definition of 'smart' insulin, where the insulin itself is glucose responsive. It is the first in its class."
The findings were reported Feb. 9 in the journal PNAS.
