Credit: Zhen Gu
The researchers modified insulin by binding it to glucosamine. The glucosamine then binds to glucose transporters on the surface of a red blood cell, effectively attaching the insulin to the blood cell. The end result is a red blood cell studded with insulin molecules. Once in the bloodstream, the blood cells carrying insulin interact with their environment. If glucose levels are high, glucose molecules displace the glucosamine in the blood cells’ glucose transporters. And when the glucosamine is set free from the blood cell, so is the insulin.