Connecting Pathway Errors in the Insulin Signaling Cascade: The Molecular Link to Inflammation, Obesity, Cancer, and Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Insulin resistance is characterized by molecular defects in the insulin-signaling pathway. Such defects disrupt cellular homeostasis and impede normal biochemical response. The mechanistic obstruction of biomolecules in the pathway leads to a number of health consequences that are grouped into a cluster of illnesses widely known as “metabolic syndrome” which creates abnormal health states of chronic condition like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease, a type of dementia also known as “diabetes type 3,” which all have a profound effect and greatly impact the overall health. The interplay of major pathways leading to glucose homeostasis and energy production is explored. Molecular docking is utilized to understand possible intermolecular forces between key molecules in the signaling pathways. Emphasis is placed on the major components of insulin signaling, especially on how individual protein molecules of the pathways are interacting with each other in the signaling cascade. The relationship between the respective diseases and the signaling cascades is explored. Molecular links in the insulin pathway will be explored in detail, in order to correlate major mechanisms that lead to insulin resistance and related pathological conditions.