dicarba insulin

Dicarba insulin is an experimental, rapid-acting insulin analogue in which the A6-A11 intrachain disulfide bond of native insulin is replaced with a rigid, non-reducible carbon-carbon double bond (dicarba linkage) using olefin metathesis. Developed by researchers at Flinders University, Monash University, and the University of Melbourne, this modification yields two stereoisomers: the active cis-dicarba insulin (Z-isomer) and the inactive trans-dicarba insulin (E-isomer). The active cis-dicarba insulin acts as a biased agonist of the insulin receptor (IR), maintaining full metabolic potency to lower blood glucose levels while exhibiting significantly reduced mitogenic activity and downstream Ras-MAPK pathway activation. This biased signaling profile is designed to minimize the risk of promoting cancer during long-term insulin therapy for diabetes.

Other names

A6-A11 dicarba insulinA-6-A11 dicarba insulinA 6-A11 dicarba insulincis-[Δ4A6,11]-dicarba human insulincis-dicarba insulintrans-dicarba insulin