The anabolic master switch for glucose uptake and storage. Structurally it is Two-chain peptide hormone (51 aa, A+B chains).

How strong is the evidence for Insulin?

PeptideHormone grades Insulin at the "Established" evidence tier — its mechanism and core effects are settled across the peer-reviewed literature. It is catalogued as an endogenous signal the body produces itself, and the tier is an editorial judgment about the public literature that can change as the science does.

What is the half-life of Insulin?

The reported circulating half-life of Insulin is ~4–6 min.

Insulin

The anabolic master switch for glucose uptake and storage.

EndogenousEstablished

The molecule that proved a peptide could be a medicine at all. Everything else in this catalog is written in the language it opened.

Identity

Class: Two-chain peptide hormone (51 aa, A+B chains)
Source: Pancreatic islet beta cells
Receptor: Insulin receptor (a receptor tyrosine kinase)

Key properties

Evidence floorClinicalREF1CLIN1

Molecular weight

~5,807.6 Da

REF

Half-life (native)

~4–6 min

CLIN

Model dosing

Approximate values for the native hormone; engineered analogs are often deliberately larger and far longer-acting. Each figure carries its own provenance tier, and the floor is the weakest of them - the Standard.

Mechanism

Secreted in response to rising glucose, insulin binds its receptor tyrosine kinase to drive glucose uptake in muscle and fat (via GLUT4) and storage as glycogen and lipid. It is the dominant anabolic signal of the fed state.

Reference notes

Insulin's receptor is a tyrosine kinase, unlike the GPCRs used by most peptide hormones here.
The incretins act upstream — they amplify glucose-stimulated insulin secretion rather than replacing insulin.
It was the first peptide hormone sequenced and the first produced by recombinant DNA.

Common questions

What is Insulin?: The anabolic master switch for glucose uptake and storage. Structurally it is Two-chain peptide hormone (51 aa, A+B chains).
How does Insulin work?: Secreted in response to rising glucose, insulin binds its receptor tyrosine kinase to drive glucose uptake in muscle and fat (via GLUT4) and storage as glycogen and lipid. It is the dominant anabolic signal of the fed state.
How strong is the evidence for Insulin?: PeptideHormone grades Insulin at the "Established" evidence tier — its mechanism and core effects are settled across the peer-reviewed literature. It is catalogued as an endogenous signal the body produces itself, and the tier is an editorial judgment about the public literature that can change as the science does.
What is the half-life of Insulin?: The reported circulating half-life of Insulin is ~4–6 min.

Selected literature

Curated peer-reviewed reviews, sourced from PubMed. Selected for relevance, not exhaustive — open any entry on PubMed for the full record and its primary citations.

1.100 years of insulin: celebrating the past, present and future of diabetes therapy · Nature medicine, 2021 · PMID 34267380
2.Insulin: The master regulator of glucose metabolism · Metabolism: clinical and experimental, 2022 · PMID 35066003

External references

Insulin in the public knowledge graph — the same entity resolved across the authoritative chemistry and protein databases.