Could snail venom help treat diabetes?

The title may seem crazy, but this is an actual article from researchers out of Australia and the US. These scientists have figured out the 3D structure of venom insulin from a cone snail. The cone snail venom insulin is extremely efficient and acts much faster than human insulin. How could this help those facing diabetes though? Well, the efficiency of the cone snail venom insulin makes the cell signaling much faster and then increases how fast the insulin begins to take effect. They also discovered that the protein has the ability to bind to the receptors in human insulin, allowing the possibility for human applications. So the insulin from the cone snail is venomous towards fish, putting them in hyperglycaemic shock, but can be helpful for human diabetic therapies. The researchers on this project have already begun the process of finding ways to make better treatments with insulin that works much faster for diabetic patients. Why would it be advantageous to have fast acting insulin though? Most individuals with diabetes have to inject insulin before eating. Depending on the type of insulin, you can take it anywhere from an hour to 15 minutes before you eat. When you have to do an injection and then wait an hour before eating, this could cause problems in timing their meals. They could also eat too early or too late and would not have good control over their blood sugar levels. The faster the insulin works, then the closer to meal time the individual could take it, and would help maintain proper blood sugar levels. So, thanks to the creepy little snail shown below, we could eventually see improvement in diabetic therapies!



Here is the link if you want to read the full article:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160912122604.htm