Journal article

Understanding insulin and its receptor from their three-dimensional structures

MC Lawrence

Molecular Metabolism | Published : 2021

Open access

Abstract

Background: Insulin's discovery 100 years ago and its ongoing use since that time to treat diabetes belies the molecular complexity of its structure and that of its receptor. Advances in single-particle cryo-electron microscopy have over the past three years revolutionized our understanding of the atomic detail of insulin-receptor interactions. Scope of review: This review describes the three-dimensional structure of insulin and its receptor and details on how they interact. This review also highlights the current gaps in our structural understanding of the system. Major conclusions: A near-complete picture has been obtained of the hormone receptor interactions, providing new insights into t..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by National Institutes of Health


Funding Acknowledgements

I thank my many colleagues and collaborators who have contributed to our structural studies of the insulin receptor system over the past two decades. I pay particular tribute to the late Drs Colin Ward and Neil McKern, whose prior insulin receptor studies formed the basis for my laboratory's current research. My research was made possible at WEHI through the Victorian State Government Operational Infrastructure Support and the Australian NHMRC Independent Research Institutes Infrastructure Support Scheme, with part of my salary being derived from subawards of NIH R01 grants DK127761, DK124401, and DK040949.