Inactive insulin receptor,illustration. The insulin receptor (blue) is a transmembrane protein,that becomes activated through the binding of insulin (orange). Insulin binding induces structural changes within the receptor. These changes trigger a biochemical chain of events inside the cell (signal transduction),that finally leads to the transport of glucose into the cell via activation of glucose transporters (channel proteins). Here,insulin is close to the insulin binding site on the receptor,however while it remains unbound,the receptor is inactive. |