Frederick Bunting
In 1869, 22-year-old student Paul Langerhans, studying under a microscope the structure of the pancreas, found that part of its cells are pairs or small groups. In a quarter of a century, these structures will be called "islands of Langerhans" after him. For a long time, the function of these mysterious structures will remain unknown. Only in the early 20's will it be possible to prove that they are necessary to release the most important hormone. This hormone was called insulin (from Latin insula - the island) at the place of excretion.
Undoubtedly, insulin is the most studied protein in the world. According to "Nobel" statistics, it is beyond competition. In the course of the 20th century, the Nobel Prize was awarded twice for research directly related to insulin.
What are the reasons why scientists all over the world are so interested in this unremarkable protein?
Insulin refers to hormones, i.e. substances, information carriers. As soon as we eat something rich in carbohydrates, the concentration of glucose in our blood increases. In response to this joyful event, the pancreas releases insulin. The cell emits glucose protein on its surface, which carries the valuable product inside.
If the pancreas does not produce insulin as it does in patients with diabetes mellitus, the body cells do not know about the appearance of glucose in the blood and do not activate the transport proteins. Left without their main source of energy, the cells start to starve, and not consumed glucose is accumulated in the blood to dangerous concentrations, affecting the walls of blood vessels. At the same time, trying to get energy at any cost, the body begins to break down fats unusually intensively. Products of this process oxidize blood, making the situation even more dangerous. The only way to save a patient in such a situation is to inject insulin immediately!
For the first time, insulin was isolated in 1921 by the Canadian scientist John McLeod and Frederick Bunting. Two years later, this discovery brought them a Nobel Prize. Obtained from the pancreas, the calf hormone saved the life of a 16-year-old diabetic patient. Its industrial production began soon.
By the standards of most proteins, insulin is a small molecule, it consists of only 51 amino acids. Having returned to the school biology lesson, we will remember that each protein is a long chain of amino acids, wrapped in a special way. The way of determining this sequence was invented by another Frederick, Senger, on the example of insulin, for which he received his first Nobel Prize in 1958.
Yes, yes - he will have two of them! And what did you achieve?
In Canadian London, there is a small square named after Frederick Bunting, the discoverer of insulin. In its center, there is the Flame of Hope monument. This eternal flame burns as a symbol of the hope for life that gave the discovery of the great scientist to tens of millions of diabetics around the world.