Role of kinases in insulin stimulation of glucose transport

Stimulation of glucose transport is one of the fundamental responses to insulin. This review attempts to analyze critically the evidence for and against the roles of the insulin receptor kinase and of protein kinase C in the stimulation of glucose transport by insulin. Therefore, the potential role of these two kinases in other responses to the hormone are not discussed. For the sake of this review only, tissues classified as insulin responsive and unresponsive are those where the hormone stimulates or does not stimulate glucose transport. In addition, other potential messengers of insulin action on glucose transport, such as Ca super(2+), cytosolic pH, membrane potential and cyclic nucleotides, although having been the focus of much attention, are not the subject of this review. The reader is referred to outstanding reviews on the insulin receptor and insulin action.