Guest Editor
Collection Overview
Insulin is vital for life itself, as are insulin receptors (InsR). Whole-body deletion of InsR was found to be incompatible with life. One of the principal known causes of glucose-homeostasis disorders is InsR resistance of major metabolic tissues, i.e., liver, adipose, and skeletal muscle. Insulin is required to transport glucose into the cells of these energy-generating and storage tissues, in the absence of which, hyperglycemia develops. In addition to these metabolic tissues, other major organs, e.g., kidney, brain, and heart express InsR. Some, such as the brain and heart rely on glucose as their major energy source, and in the kidney, insulin activates transporters and channels involved in the reabsorption and thus retrieval of vital filtered nutrients, electrolytes, and other substances, which would otherwise be lost in the urine. This Methods Collection is primarily aimed at reviewing the state-of-the-art approaches to quantitate and characterize InsR signaling and sensitivity in cells, tissues, organs, animal models, and humans. The plan for the collection of 5-8 units: 1) approaches and limitations to gauging insulin sensitivity in humans; 2) determining novel patterns of insulin targets using phosphoproteomics; 3) the use of cell- and tissue-select animal InsR knockout to elucidate the role of the insulin receptor; 4) newer imaging approaches to deduce insulin actions in the whole-organism; 5) insulin transcriptome; 6) genetics of insulin signaling and insulin resistance
