Scientists at Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk have developed a ‘smart’ insulin that reacts to rises and falls in blood sugar levels in real time. This may help improve treatment options for people suffering from diabetesThis research was published in Nature Journal. Scientists have developed an insulin molecule with an “on-and-off switch” that automatically responds to blood sugar levels.

According to a report in The Print, the synthesized modified molecule, called NNC2215, was tested in pigs and rats and found to be as good as natural insulin in humans. It has not yet been refined enough to be used in humans, however, early findings are already promising with observations similar to those expected in humans.

Scientists believe this insulin will help deal with fluctuations in blood sugar levels and the challenge of matching insulin doses to sugar levels. There have been previous attempts at engineering smart molecules, but this is the first effort that targets glucose, the sugar molecule in the blood, rather than other molecules like fructose.

“This is a very good study that was well designed — they did all the necessary experiments to verify that it worked,” David Sachs, a clinical chemist unaffiliated with the study, said in a statement accompanying the research. It certainly provides encouragement that this approach is worth adopting.”

According to a report in Medical Express, researchers Rita Slaby and colleagues have introduced a modified form of insulin with activity that varies according to glucose levels in the blood. The molecule, called NNC2215, is equipped with a switch that can open and close in response to glucose.

Under high glucose concentrations, the switch opens, and insulin becomes more active, removing glucose from the blood. When glucose levels drop, the switch goes to the off state, preventing glucose uptake.

The structure of the NNC2215 molecule consists of two major parts, a ring-shaped structure called a macrocycle and a modified glucose molecule called a glucoside. When blood sugar levels fall, the glucoside is activated and binds to the macrocycle, causing the insulin molecule to ‘lock’ in its inactive state.

However, when blood sugar levels rise, the sugar molecules in the blood displace the glucoside and change the shape of the synthetic insulin molecule. This turns on a “switch”, allowing insulin to be released.

This modified insulin may help prevent the sudden sharp drops in blood sugar that affect people with diabetes, especially during sleep. However, a major drawback of the study is that blood sugar levels fluctuate very widely and it takes a large increase for the molecule to activate.

Researchers are now working on bringing these levels down to account for smaller increases in glucose. The authors say this insulin may help improve long-term and short-term complications associated with diabetes.

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