Insulin discovery by Vic scientists

A discovery by Melbourne scientists could transform insulin treatments for diabetes patients worldwide.

An international collaboration, co-led by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, has produced the first 3-D image showing how insulin triggers cells to reduce blood sugar levels.

The work could help design faster-acting and longer-lasting insulin treatments to make the lives of diabetic people easier, the experts said.

It has already been shown that insulin instructs cells to lower blood sugar levels in the body, by binding to a receptor on the cell surface.

However there was uncertainty over exactly what was happening during this interaction.

“Current insulin therapies are sub-optimal because they have been designed without this missing piece of the puzzle,” Associate Professor Mike Lawrence told AAP.

The 3-D image, the result of two decades of work, shows “in exquisite detail” how insulin interacts with cell receptors.

Associate Professor Lawrence said the discovery means it is now possible to create a “new generation” of insulin treatments which mimic more closely the body’s own insulin.

“The aim is just to make the lives of patients a bit more manageable,” he said.

The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.