Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have determined the structure of a previously unseen part of the insulin receptor, making possible new treatments for diabetes.

The insulin receptor is a large protein on the surface of cells to which the hormone insulin binds.

Australian scientists revealed the structure of the major part of the insulin receptor in 2006 but the structure of a key segment to which insulin binds remained elusive.

Now, Drs Mike Lawrence, Brian Smith, John Menting, Geoffrey Kong and Colin Ward from the institute's Structural Biology division, together with colleagues from the Case Western Reserve University and the University of Chicago, have worked out the molecular structure of this previously unseen region.

Their findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Early Edition).

Dr Lawrence said scientists had been trying for decades to work out how insulin interacts with the insulin receptor. "You can't work it out unless you have a view of the site to which the insulin binds, and that's what we've done," he said.

"By understanding how insulin binds and transmits messages into the cell we will be in a better position to design compounds that mimic insulin and could be used to treat diabetes."

"Mike Lawrence and colleagues have determined the structure of a previously unseen part of the insulin receptor. (Credit: Image courtesy of Walter and Eliza Hall Institute)"

Source: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute