How is Insulin Made?
Insulin, a crucial hormone regulating blood sugar, is produced in several ways. Primarily, it's naturally synthesized within the human body, but for medicinal purposes, it's manufactured using various techniques.
- Pancreatic Beta Cells: The body produces insulin in specialized cells called beta cells, located within the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas (as stated in multiple sources including Cleveland Clinic, Canada.ca, and NIH). These cells synthesize a precursor molecule, preproinsulin, which undergoes processing to become mature insulin. This process is described in detail by the University of Michigan.
- Preproinsulin Processing: Preproinsulin is converted to proinsulin, then further modified to its active form, insulin, before being released into the bloodstream. This information aligns with the description provided by a 2014 publication.
Synthetic Insulin Production
To address the needs of individuals with diabetes, synthetic insulin is produced using several methods:
- Animal Sources: Historically, insulin was extracted from the pancreas of pigs and cows. While still used in some cases, this method is less common due to the potential for allergic reactions and limited supply (as noted by Wikipedia).
- Recombinant DNA Technology: This modern technique involves inserting the human insulin gene into microorganisms like E. coli bacteria or yeast. These organisms then produce human insulin, which is purified and used as medication. This method allows for large-scale production of highly purified human insulin (detailed on the American Chemical Society website and the CSHL DNA Learning Center). This approach was first achieved in 1978 by Eli Lilly and Co. (American Diabetes Association).
In summary, insulin can be produced naturally within the body by beta cells in the pancreas, or synthetically using animal sources or recombinant DNA technology for medicinal purposes.
