<i>Scientists got an interesting idea based on the ability of a predatory cone snail called Geographer Cone. This snail has a substance with fast-acting insulin activity. They borrowed a part and synthesized a hybrid molecule.</i>

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Geographer Cones are abundant, evolution-proven sea organisms. They are also an attraction of many summer resorts thanks to their beauty. Sadly, sometimes an enthusiastic diver picks them up without realizing that the Geographers can easily kill them with their toxins.

But scientists do not care about them that much for their beauty but because of their conotoxin – one of the most potent poisons known in nature. There is a chance that some of the properties of their peptides could be used instead of opiates. A drug that does not cause digestive or breathing problems would be invaluable.

The Geographer Cone <i>Conus Geografus</i> is one of the most common species and can be found anywhere from the Indopacific, the Red Sea, up to the Japanese islands. What makes it interesting is the fact it releases its toxic poison in the form of little clouds into the surrounding water. And the most important of their magic potion is insulin. And quite a form of insulin it is. It acts quickly a forcefully. Immediately it makes the glucose level in the blood to decrease stunning the victim. All that is left to do next is to eat the victim.

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Danny Hung-Chieh Chou works at a university in Utah. He is part of a collective that decided to take a good look at this strange insulin. Surprisingly, it is quite similar to human insulin. The difference lies in the fact that human insulin has sort of an addon. This addon has its purpose – it takes care of the clustering of molecules. The clustering of the insulin molecules is useful for their storage in the pancreas. But for their physiological functions, this addon is counterproductive. The clusters first need to be loosened up before they can do their job in the blood. Before all of this happens and the molecules of insulin do their job a full hour may pass. This is a long time for a type I diabetic.

But there is a problem. The geographer's insulin is not effective in human tissue. You would have to use about twenty times more of it than regular insulin. And even its immunogenicity was not that great. So, the scientists came up with the idea to create sort of a hybrid and getting the best of both worlds. Chou and his colleagues took part of the Geographer's insulin that simplifies the bond to the insulin receptor. They only need four amino-acids from the Geographer's insulin. These were then incorporated into a chopped down version of human insulin. The part that was chopped down from human insulin was the part that causes it to cluster up. These new molecules which they call mini-insulin were then tested in a laboratory.

<h3>Conclusion</h3>

The results show that the mini-insulin bonded to the receptors as well as normal human insulin without its unwanted properties. While it may take up to ninety minutes for normal insulin to act the hybrid molecule can repair the homeostasis much faster.

Mini-insulin is so far the smallest molecule with full insulin activity. Not only does it act powerfully and quickly, but because it is a small molecule it should be easier to synthesize. This makes it a great candidate for a new generation of insulin drugs especially in combination with automatic insulin pumps. We estimate that about 18 % of the costs for treating diabetics are spent purely on insulin. Easier synthesizing should reduce its cost. But the biggest advantage of the new mini-insulin is its ability to quickly stabilize the patients while minimizing the risks.

<h4>Sources:</h4>
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