Sprecher
Beschreibung
Insulin receptors (IRs) organize into nanoclusters on the cell membrane, as demonstrated by our group and others using super-resolution microscopy. The nanocluster arrangements of IRs provide the ideal environment for multivalent interactions with insulin. We designed an insulin-DNA nanostructure that offers precise control over the number and spatial distribution of insulin molecules within each nanostructure. Our group found that certain multivalent insulin configurations significantly increased IR activation, extended receptor engagement, and improved glucose regulation in a zebrafish model of diabetes. These findings highlight the potential of modulating insulin valency and spatial organization within nanoclusters as a strategy to enhance insulin-based therapies.
Our ongoing work investigates the biodistribution and functional activity of insulin-DNA origami nanostructures in wild-type and diabetes zebrafish models. Future work aims to expand this work in wild-type and diabetes mouse models. Understanding tissue-specific IR patterns may enable the development of new types of insulin nanocluster-based therapies that can selectively target key tissues to fine-tune insulin efficacy at the cellular level.
