The transmission of the insulin receptor (IR) signal to its various mediators occurs over varying lengths of time, from seconds (AKT, TBC1D4 and FOXO), to minutes (GSK3, TSC2, mTOR and S6K), to hours (SREBP1c). FOXO, forkhead family box O; GSK3, glycogen synthase kinase 3; IRS, IR substrate; PDK, phosphoinositide-dependent kinase; PIP3, PtdIns(3,4,5)P3; S6K, ribosomal protein S6 kinase; SREBP1c, sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c; TBC1D4, TBC1 domain family member 4; TSC2, tuberous sclerosis 2.