Human Insulin Hexamer Molecular Structure

Molecular structure of T3R3 human insulin hexamer. Insulin is stored as micro-crystals of hexameric assemblies within the pancreatic β-cell. This arrangement is very stable. Insulin is the hormone that controls glucose levels in the blood. Dorothy Hodgkin determined the structure of insulin using X-ray diffraction in 1969. The model was built using ChimeraX from X-ray diffraction crystal structure data in the Protein Data Bank (PDB ID 1TRZ). DOI: 10.2210/pdb1TRZ/pdb & https://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/chimerax/ 'Crystallographic evidence for dual coordination around zinc in the T3R3 human insulin hexamer.' Ciszak, E., Smith, G.D. (1994) Biochemistry 33: 1512-1517. PubMed: 831227 DOI: 10.1021/bi00172a030.