Regulation of gene expression by insulin

Insulin after binding to its plasma membrane receptor regulates many cellular processes as well as the expression of several genes. These effects of insulin can be temporarily classified as short-term (minutes) and long-term (hours-days). The different steps of gene expression that may be under insulin control are reviewed. The main focus of the review is on the regulation of gene transcription by insulin. A putative insulin negative regulatory sequence is proposed based on the comparison of the 5'-upstream regions of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and protein disulfide isomerase genes and compared with a recently identified positive insulin regulatory element located in the 5'-upstream region of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene.