Prof Michael Weiss and his team at Indiana University, USA will develop and test a novel protein molecule that combines insulin and glucagon to help reduce the burden of blood glucose highs and lows for people living with type 1 diabetes.  

Glucagon and insulin

Unlike insulin, which helps remove glucose from the blood, glucagon is a hormone that stimulates the liver to release more glucose when levels in the blood run low. Prof Weiss and his team have designed and run initial tests on a molecule that combines insulin and glucagon.  

 By combining both hormones, the researchers hope their combined hormone can help prevent highs and lows in blood glucose and improve quality of life for people living with type 1 diabetes. They’ve tested the molecule in rats with type 1 diabetes and found that it can lower risk of hypos both at mealtimes and throughout the day.

What will Prof Weiss do in this project?

In this project Prof Weiss and his team will improve the design of the glucagon-insulin molecule to optimise time-in-range. They’ll run experiments in rats with type 1 diabetes to test how stable the dual hormone molecule is and confirm that it prevents both hypers and hypos.  

 They will also explore different ways to manufacture this insulin-glucagon molecule, to find the cheapest and easiest way to make large quantities, so it can be tested in human clinical trials in the future.  

Prof Weiss said:

“My colleague Prof Raimund Herzog at Yale and our team at Indiana University are most grateful to the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge programme for supporting our efforts to prevent hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes through the development of ‘smart’ insulin-glucagon fusion proteins. Thanks to Grand Challenge funding, we have the opportunity to test our ideas to enhance the quality of life for individuals with type 1 diabetes to make managing type 1 easier and safer to accomplish.”

How will this research help people with type 1 diabetes?

People with type 1 diabetes are constantly aware of the risk of hypos. Unlike other novel insulins, the aim of this research project is to protect against hypos by activating glucagon if blood glucose levels fall too low. 

 This research could pave the way to reducing highs and lows in blood glucose without the need for constant monitoring. It could be particularly helpful for people who often have hypos or don’t feel the symptoms of hypos (known as hypo unawareness).