The song that makes insulin cells work has been named
A new study by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) has shown that music can literally save the lives of diabetics.The researchers obtained a protein from E. coli bacteria that controls the flow of calcium ions into the inner cellular material of the bacteria. They then incorporated this protein into human insulin cells. The experiment showed that when exposed to sound, these designer cells pass positively charged calcium ions. This causes the insulin they contain to fuse with the membrane and then be released to the outside where they can be distributed throughout the body.
While some researchers might have stopped at using some boring machine generated sound to release insulin, the team from Zurich went further - they turned the cells on to rock and roll.
The team knew that ion channels work most effectively when exposed to loudness in the 60 decibel (dB) range and low frequencies of 50 hertz. They also discovered that to maximize insulin release, the sound must be played for at least three seconds and pause for no more than five seconds.
So they implanted designer cages in mice and placed the rodents on a speaker with their bellies facing down. Then they turned on songs from different genres and tabulated their effects. Rock music with heavy bass elicited the best response: the Queen song "We Will Rock You" released about 70% of insulin in five minutes, and 100% in 15 minutes. The track was played at 85dB. The soundtrack to the Marvel movie "The Avengers" took second place. Music with less bass, such as classical and instrumental guitar tracks, had a much weaker effect.
To trigger the release of insulin, the implanted designer cells had to be placed directly above the sound source. The experiments showed no effect when any headphones were used. In addition, ambient noise had no effect on the cells.
At this point, the researchers see this experiment as a proof of concept. They say that any sound-triggered insulin release system is still a long way off and would require commercial interest to launch. The scientists also note that the discovery could be applicable to other cell types to treat a number of diseases.
The findings have been published in The Lancet.