Insulin and hormones

Hormones are chemical messengers that travel through the blood and act on receptors in distant cells. Insulin, discovered in 1921, was one of the first proteins to be sequenced and crystallized, and its hexamers, analogs and receptor are shown here. The collection also covers growth hormone, leptin, erythropoietin, GLP-1 and the nuclear receptors that bind steroid hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.

Open Pig insulin hexamer with two zinc ions in 3D

28 structures

Pig insulin hexamer with two zinc ions4INS
Dorothy Hodgkin's group solved the first insulin structure in 1969.
Human insulin3I40
Human insulin T6 hexamer at 1.0 Å1MSO
Human insulin T3R3 hexamer1TRZ
Insulin R6 hexamer with m-cresol1EV6
Insulin lispro, a fast-acting analog1LPH
Swapping two amino acids (ProB28 and LysB29) weakens the hexamer so the insulin acts faster.
Insulin aspart, a fast-acting analog4GBC
Insulin bound to its receptor's binding site 14OGA
Full-length insulin receptor bound to four insulins6PXV
Insulin receptor kinase domain with substrate peptide1IR3
Glucagon1GCN
Activated GLP-1 receptor bound to a G protein5VAI
GLP-1 receptor drugs such as semaglutide are used for diabetes and weight loss.
Human growth hormone1HGU
Human growth hormone bound to its receptor3HHR
Human leptin, the satiety hormone1AX8
Erythropoietin bound to its receptor1EER
Estrogen receptor with estradiol1ERE
Estrogen receptor with 4-hydroxytamoxifen3ERT
Tamoxifen blocks estrogen signaling in many breast cancers.
Androgen receptor with testosterone2AM9
Glucocorticoid receptor with dexamethasone1M2Z
Progesterone receptor with progesterone1A28
Human oxytocin receptor6TPK
Human preproinsulin (AlphaFold)P01308 (AlphaFold)
Human insulin receptor (AlphaFold)P06213 (AlphaFold)
Human growth hormone (AlphaFold)P01241 (AlphaFold)
Human leptin (AlphaFold)P41159 (AlphaFold)
Human erythropoietin (AlphaFold)P01588 (AlphaFold)
Human estrogen receptor alpha (AlphaFold)P03372 (AlphaFold)

Insulin and hormones

28 structures

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