Temporal coding of insulin action through multiplexing of the AKT pathway

Kubota H, Noguchi R, Toyoshima Y, Ozaki YI, Uda S, Watanabe K, Ogawa W, Kuroda S · 2012 · Molecular Cell · Atlas ID KUB2012

What this study shows

The same pathway can carry different messages in the shape of its signal over time. A short insulin pulse produced transient AKT phosphorylation and a sustained dose produced sustained AKT phosphorylation. S6K read only the transient part, G6Pase only the sustained part and GSK3-beta both. Which output responds depends on the pattern, not just the amount - the clearest cell-level case in the atlas that timing carries information in this pathway.

Abstract

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One of the unique characteristics of cellular signaling pathways is that a common signaling pathway can selectively regulate multiple cellular functions of a hormone; however, this selective downstream control through a common signaling pathway is poorly understood. Here we show that the insulin-dependent AKT pathway uses temporal patterns multiplexing for selective regulation of downstream molecules. Pulse and sustained insulin stimulations were simultaneously encoded into transient and sustained AKT phosphorylation, respectively.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	M Molecular — cells, biochemistry, structure Marked M because it is molecular or in-vitro work (model: Rat hepatoma cells (Fao); pulse vs sustained insulin, time-course phosphorylation plus kinetic modelling) rather than a whole-organism health-outcome study. That is often exactly where causal biology gets established -- the code says which system the finding was shown in, and nothing about how good the work is.
Study type	5 - Mechanistic / In Vitro
Model system	Rat hepatoma cells (Fao); pulse vs sustained insulin, time-course phosphorylation plus kinetic modelling
Journal	Molecular Cell
Year	2012
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-09-23
Source	DOI 10.1016/j.molcel.2012.04.018 · PMID 22633957

Extracted findings

Intervention	Pulse versus sustained insulin stimulation
Target	AKT; S6K; G6Pase; GSK3-beta
Model	Rat (hepatoma cell line)
Effect	S6K selectively decodes transient AKT signalling; G6Pase decodes sustained; GSK3-beta decodes both

In the Atlas

Cite this paper

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Kubota, H., Noguchi, R., Toyoshima, Y., Ozaki, Y. I., Uda, S., Watanabe, K., Ogawa, W., & Kuroda, S. (2012). Temporal coding of insulin action through multiplexing of the AKT pathway. Molecular Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2012.04.018

@article{KUB2012,
  author       = {Kubota, H. and Noguchi, R. and Toyoshima, Y. and Ozaki, Y. I. and Uda, S. and Watanabe, K. and Ogawa, W. and Kuroda, S.},
  title        = {{Temporal coding of insulin action through multiplexing of the AKT pathway}},
  journal      = {Molecular Cell},
  year         = {2012},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.molcel.2012.04.018},
  note         = {PMID: 22633957},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record KUB2012) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/KUB2012/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_KUB2012,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record KUB2012},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/KUB2012/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}