IIT Mandi discovers molecule to treat Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi researchers have identified a drug molecule that can be used to treat diabetes.  The molecule is named as PK2 and is able to trigger the release of insulin by the pancreas and can potentially be used as an orally administered medicine for diabetes.

The findings of the research have been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The paper has been authored by Prosenjit Mondal, associate professor, School of Basic Sciences, and co-authored by Subrata Ghosh, professor, School of Basic Sciences, IIT Mandi, along with Sunil Kumar, ICAR- IASRI, PUSA, New Delhi, Budheswar Dehury, ICMR RMRC, Bhubaneswar, Khyati Girdhar, Shilpa Thakur, Abhinav Choubey, Pankaj Gaur, Surbhi Dogra, Bidisha Biswas from IIT Mandi, and Durgesh Kumar Dwivedi (Regional Ayurvedic Research Institute (RARI) Gwalior)

“Current drugs such as exenatide and liraglutide used for diabetes, are administered as injections, and they are costly and unstable after administration. We seek to find simpler drugs that are stable, cheap, and effective against both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes,” Mondal said.

“We first tested the binding of PK2 on GLP1R proteins in human cells  and found that it is able to bind well toGLP1R proteins.  This showed that PK2 can potentially trigger insulin release by the beta cells,” Girdhar said.

According to the researchers, PK2 was rapidly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, which means that it can be used as an oral medication rather than an injection.  “Beyond increasing insulin release, PK2 was also able to prevent and even reverse beta cell loss, a cell essential for insulin production, making it effective for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes,” Mondal added.

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