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Structural biology

Insulin meets its receptor

Nature volume 493, pages 171–172 (2013)Cite this article

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The hormone insulin has a central role in human physiology, yet the answer to a fundamental biochemical question — how it binds to its cell-surface receptor — has remained elusive, until now. See Letter p.241

Insulin holds a storied place in the fields of physiology and biochemistry1. First isolated in 1921, it was soon used to save the lives of individuals with diabetes. This medical breakthrough and subsequent biochemical research on insulin have garnered three Nobel prizes. The three-dimensional structure of insulin was determined by X-ray crystallography in 1969. Yet, despite intense interest, an atomic view of insulin bound to its receptor has been lacking — a situation rectified by the report of Menting et al.2 in this issue.

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Figure 1: Binding of insulin to its receptor.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Stevan R. Hubbard is in the Structural Biology Program, Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA.,

    Stevan R. Hubbard

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Correspondence to Stevan R. Hubbard.

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Hubbard, S. Insulin meets its receptor. Nature 493, 171–172 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/493171a

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