ANALYSIS OF ELECTROSTATIC INTERACTION OF GANGLIOSIDE GM3 WITH TRANSMEMBRANE PEPTIDE OF INSULIN RECEPTOR

摘要

The insulin receptor is a single transmembrane protein that regulates blood glucose level. The reduction of sensitivity to insulin leads to type 2 diabetes. It has been suggested that the overexpression and the accumulation of ganglioside GM3 on cell membrane reduces insulin signal in type 2 diabetes. The interaction of GM3 with the insulin receptor is considered to be due to an electrostatic interaction between a sialic acid of GM3 and the lysine residue located just above the transmembrane domain of the insulin receptor [1] (Fig. 1). However, the detailed analysis has not been elucidated.