Current Concepts of the Action of Insulin

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Abstract
The theories currently advanced to explain insulin action are reviewed. Topics discussed are: (1) Action of Insulin on Transfer of Glucose Across Cell Barriers; (2) Influence of Insulin Upon the Hexokinase Reaction: In Cell-Free System; (3) Influence of Insulin Upon the Hexokinase Reaction: In Intact Tissue; (4) Hexokinase Inhibitors in Blood and Other Tissues; (5) Relation of Insulin to Phosphate Metabolism; (6) Relation of Insulin to Fat Metabolism; (7) Effect of Insulin on Oxidative Systems; (8) Effect of Insulin on Protein Metabolism; (9) Effect of Insulin on Glucose Oxidation; (10) Influence of Insulin Upon the Rat Diaphragm in Vitro; (11) Combination of Insulin with Tissues. In the light of the evidence presented, the reviewer feels that it is impossible at present to espouse one theory of insulin action to the complete exclusion of any other. Yet it is with reluctance that one abandons the hope that insulin-enzyme interactions can be explained upon the basis of one single mechanism. Geissman has discussed in a stimulating withal somewhat speculative paper the possibility of explaining enzyme action upon the basis of one common property possessed by proteins. It is possible to imagine that hormones may fit into such a scheme as the basis for an explanation of hormonal-enzymatic interrelationship. But such developments, if they eventuate at all, are matters for the future.