Insulin is released by the pancreas’ beta cells in response to elevated nutrients in the blood. Insulin promotes glucose storage via the insulin signaling pathway and it inhibits the production of glucose and its release by the liver. Moreover, insulin controls certain metabolic enzymes and regulates the expression of genes that encode hepatic enzymes needed for gluconeogenesis. Understanding the insulin signaling pathway is important for learning more about type-1 diabetics who lack the ability to synthesize insulin and type-2 diabetics who are resistant to it.

The pathway below is interactive, meaning you can click on an active pathway component (highlighted in orange) to learn more about available mouse models relevant to that specific gene and pathway function.