Figure 1.

Glucose uptake mechanism via insulin-mediated translocation of GLUT4. (A) Insulin binds to the insulin receptor, activating autophosphorylation and PI3K, which activates AKT followed by translocation of vesicles containing GLUT4 from the intracellular compartment to the surface membrane. GLUT4 inserts into the membrane and triggers the uptake of glucose. (B) Disturbance in the activation of PI3K and AKT pathways disrupts the GLUT4 translocation that eventually results in the development of insulin resistance (IR) [arrow shows the next step of the process and cross shows the disruption of the process].