Nano-sized particles that release glucagon, the hormone responsible for elevated blood sugar levels, on demand could mean diabetics don’t have to worry about potentially dangerous low blood sugar levels, according to a new study. There is sex.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) is common for people with diabetes, especially those taking insulin. It can also be life-threatening. Severe hypoglycemia may make you feel confused, faint, or have a seizure. Not all diabetics are ‘low blood pressure aware’, increasing the risk of serious complications.
Beta cells in the pancreas produce the hormones insulin and glucagon. The former lowers blood sugar and the latter raises it. An injectable version of glucagon is commercially available and exists as an emergency treatment for hypoglycemia, typically used when a diabetic patient loses consciousness. But what if we could avoid severe hypoglycemia altogether? Researchers at UCLA have developed a nanomedicine that could do just that.
Normal fasting blood sugar levels are between 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L) and 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L). Hypoglycemia is defined as a blood sugar level below 70 mg/dL. When blood sugar levels drop, the pancreas releases glucagon, which tells the liver to release stored glucose to raise blood sugar levels.
Although there are several materials that sense high blood sugar levels and respond by releasing insulin, less common systems are systems that deliver glucagon when low blood sugar levels are detected. In this study, the researchers showed that glucagon encapsulated in micelles (nanoscale spheres made of substances that dissolve in water and can carry other substances inside them) was developed to respond to blood sugar. was used.
When the researchers tested micelles loaded with glucagon in laboratory experiments, they found that glucagon was released only in a liquid environment that mimics hypoglycemia (blood sugar levels below 60 mg/dL (3.3 mmol/L)) in humans and mice. discovered that it decomposes and releases it. When mice with insulin-induced hypoglycemia were treated with micelles, their blood sugar levels reached normal within 40 minutes.
Furthermore, when micelles containing glucagon are injected into mice that have not responded to a hypoglycemic event, they remain intact and do not release the hormone unless blood glucose levels fall below the clinical threshold for severe hypoglycemia. I observed that. Once the micelles are free of glucagon, they no longer trigger an immune response or cause organ damage.
Although still in its early stages and requiring further research, this proof-of-concept data shows the researchers’ glucagon-loaded micelles are a promising treatment for insulin-induced hypoglycemia.
The study was published in the journal ACS Central Science.
Source:ACS
