Insulin plays a fundamental role in whole-body glucose homeostasis. Central to this is the hormone's ability to rapidly stimulate the rate of glucose transport into adipocytes and muscle cells [1]. Upon binding its receptor, insulin stimulates an intracellular signalling cascade that culminates in redistribution of glucose transporter proteins, specifically the GLUT4 isoform, from intracellular stores to the plasma membrane, a process termed ‘translocation’ [1,2]. This is an example of regulated membrane trafficking [3], a process that also underpins other aspects of physiology in a number of specialized cell types, for example neurotransmission in brain/neurons and release of hormone-containing vesicles from specialized secretory cells such as those found in pancreatic islets. These processes invoke a number of intriguing biological questions as follows. How is the machinery involved in these membrane trafficking events mobilized in response to a stimulus? How do the signalling pathways that detect the external stimulus interface with the trafficking machinery? Recent studies of insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation offer insight into such questions. In the present paper, we have reviewed these studies and draw parallels with other regulated trafficking systems.
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October 2014
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Conference Article|
September 18 2014
Studies of the regulated assembly of SNARE complexes in adipocytes
Dimitrios Kioumourtzoglou;
Dimitrios Kioumourtzoglou
*Henry Wellcome Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute for Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, Davidson Building, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
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Jessica B.A. Sadler;
Jessica B.A. Sadler
*Henry Wellcome Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute for Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, Davidson Building, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
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Hannah L. Black;
Hannah L. Black
†Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, U.K.
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Rebecca Berends;
Rebecca Berends
*Henry Wellcome Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute for Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, Davidson Building, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
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Cassie Wellburn;
Cassie Wellburn
*Henry Wellcome Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute for Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, Davidson Building, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
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Nia J. Bryant;
Nia J. Bryant
1
†Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, U.K.
1Correspondence may be addressed to either author (emailGwyn.Gould@Glasgow.ac.uk or Nia.Bryant@york.ac.uk)
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Gwyn W. Gould
Gwyn W. Gould
1
*Henry Wellcome Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute for Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, Davidson Building, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
1Correspondence may be addressed to either author (emailGwyn.Gould@Glasgow.ac.uk or Nia.Bryant@york.ac.uk)
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
April 30 2014
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2014 Biochemical Society
2014
Biochem Soc Trans (2014) 42 (5): 1396–1400.
Article history
Received:
April 30 2014
Citation
Dimitrios Kioumourtzoglou, Jessica B.A. Sadler, Hannah L. Black, Rebecca Berends, Cassie Wellburn, Nia J. Bryant, Gwyn W. Gould; Studies of the regulated assembly of SNARE complexes in adipocytes. Biochem Soc Trans 1 October 2014; 42 (5): 1396–1400. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20140114
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