Insulin/receptor binding: the last piece of the puzzle? What recent progress on the structure of the insulin/receptor complex tells us (or not) about negative cooperativity and activation

Progress in solving the structure of insulin bound to its receptor has been slow and stepwise, but a milestone has now been reached with a refined structure of a complex of insulin with a "microreceptor" that contains the primary binding site. The insulin receptor is a dimeric allosteric enzyme that belongs to the family of receptor tyrosine kinases. The insulin binding process is complex and exhibits negative cooperativity. Biochemical evidence suggested that insulin, through two distinct binding sites, crosslinks two receptor sites located on each α subunit. The structure of the unliganded receptor ectodomain showed a symmetrical folded-over conformation with an antiparallel disposition. Further work resolved the detailed structure of receptor site 1, both without and with insulin. Recently, a missing piece in the puzzle was added: the C-terminal portion of insulin's B-chain known to be critical for binding and negative cooperativity. Here I discuss these findings and their implications.