Conformational flexibility of the pharmacologically important insulin analogues

Olga  Ksenofontova; Vasily  Stefanov

doi:10.4236/abc.2013.35056

Olga Ksenofontova^*, Vasily Stefanov

Abstract: Understanding the conformational flexibility of the insulin drugs is of great importance for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Once in the body, the drug must have a certain degree of mobility within a specified period of time for the manifestation of its pharmacological properties. This mobility ensures conformational states necessary for binding with the insulin receptor and activating specific biological processes. In this work we investigated conformational flexibility of the pharmacologically important insulin analogues—insulin lispro, insulin aspart, insulin glulisine, and insulin glargine, using the molecular dynamics simulation method. This study provides new insight into the nature of behaviour of A-and B-chains. It has been found out that B-chain substitutions result in rapid acting, while long-lasting action can be achieved by substitutions in both chains. The results of this study can be used for development of new insulin-based antidiabetic drugs.

Keywords: Insulin Analogues; Conformational Flexibility; Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

Cite this paper: Ksenofontova, O. and Stefanov, V. (2013) Conformational flexibility of the pharmacologically important insulin analogues. Advances in Biological Chemistry, 3, 512-517. doi: 10.4236/abc.2013.35056.

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