Current understanding of glucose transporter 4 expression and functional mechanisms

Figure 1 Schematic of insulin-induced translocation of glucose transporter 4 from cytosol to the cell membrane. The binding of insulin to its receptors initiates a signal transduction cascade, which results in the activation of Akt. Akt acts on the glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) containing vesicles in the cytosol to facilitate their fusion with the cell membrane. When more GLUT4 molecules are present in the membrane, the rate of glucose uptake is elevated. GLUT4: Glucose transporter 4.