INSULIN-RECEPTOR

The cloning of the insulin receptor not only established the primary s tructure of this membrane-bound glycoprotein but also offered the mate rial necessary for the study of the molecular functions of this tyrosi ne-kinase receptor using molecular biology tools. This short review wi ll summarize the actual knowledge of the structure, the functions (mol ecular structure of the binding site, tyrosine-kinazse functions and r ole of autophosphorylation) and of the pathology of this receptor in e xtreme insulin resistances and type II diabetes.