Tablets with insulin
Scientists have figured out how to replace insulin injections with pills
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
The researchers mixed regular injectable insulin with the peptide D-DNP and we achieved a decrease in glucose levels in mice after half an hour. Their work opens up new opportunities to create an effective oral remedy for millions of diabetics.
Article by Ito et al. Oral Coadministration of Zn-Insulin with d-Form Small Intestine-Permeable Cyclic Peptide Enhances Its Blood Glucose-Lowering Effect in Mice is published in the journal Molecular Pharmaceuticals – VM.
Currently, diabetic patients are forced to control their blood glucose levels with daily injections. This procedure greatly worsens the quality of life of people, so scientists are trying to develop alternative ways to inject insulin into the body. The oral form in the form of tablets is considered the best of all options.
The problem with the development of insulin tablets is that insulin is rapidly destroyed in the stomach and is not absorbed in the small intestine. In the new work , researchers from Kumamoto University has discovered that insulin can be administered orally if the D-DNP peptide is added to it.
To further reduce the risk of insulin breakdown in the gastrointestinal tract, the scientists used an insulin hexamer and then injected it together with D-DNP into the intestines of mice.
Within five minutes, insulin could be detected in the blood, and glucose levels began to decrease between 15 and 60 minutes after administration. The effect persisted for at least two hours. When the mixture was administered orally, the blood glucose level began to decrease after 15 minutes and also persisted for 120 minutes.
Given that many injectable insulin preparations already contain insulin hexamers, the oral form can be developed by simply adding the D-DNP peptide to existing drugs, the authors concluded.
Now the team intends to refine their approach to further increase the absorption of insulin in the small intestine. If their approach shows further success in preclinical trials, millions of diabetics will have hope for the appearance of insulin in tablets.
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