Coffee for diabetics

Coffee will help regulate glucose levels in diabetes

Natalia Pelezneva, Naked Science

Researchers from the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich have created a technology that in the future will be able to replace regular insulin injections in diabetes mellitus. The subcutaneous implant is activated when caffeine enters the body – for example, contained in coffee or tea. The device has already been tested on mice prone to developing diabetes. A description of the development was published in the journal Nature Communications (Bojar et al., Caffeine-inducible gene switches controlling experimental diabetes).

In diabetes mellitus, the interaction of the hormone insulin with the cells of human body tissues is disrupted, this leads to hyperglycemia – a persistent increase in blood glucose. Therefore, glucose levels are regulated by insulin injections or taking medications that enhance hormone secretion.

The new implant consists of a variety of gel capsules filled with specially prepared cells created on the basis of human kidney tissue. "When the capsules are injected under the skin, they "stick together" like caviar," the developers explain. The cells in the capsules stimulate the production of the peptide hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), normally this substance is excreted in the intestine after eating. GLP-1 affects the work of many organs and systems, one of its functions is to increase insulin secretion by pancreatic cells.

The cells producing GLP-1 were equipped with a C-STAR (caffeine-stimulated advanced regulators) system that recognizes small doses of caffeine – for example, corresponding to an average cup of coffee. It is based on a single–stranded antibody, which dimerizes in the presence of caffeine - its two molecules combine into a single complex. In the presence of a physiologically significant dose of caffeine, modified cells begin to secrete GLP-1, forcing the pancreas to actively produce insulin.

Figure from an article in Nature Communications

The researchers tested C-STAR's performance with 26 different drinks. The cells did not respond to milkshake and herbal tea, but were activated in the presence of caffeinated beverages: Coca-Cola, coffee, black tea and energy drinks. Then the effect of the implant was tested on ten mice prone to developing diabetes. Small doses of coffee normalized the level of glucose in the blood of animals for two weeks. According to the authors of the technique, such implants for humans may appear on the market no earlier than in ten years – the technology needs to be thoroughly tested.

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