This gene encodes insulin, a peptide hormone that plays a vital role in the regulation of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. After removal of the precursor signal peptide, proinsulin is post-translationally cleaved into three peptides: the B chain and A chain peptides, which are covalently linked via two disulfide bonds to form insulin, and C-peptide. Binding of insulin to the insulin receptor (INSR) stimulates glucose uptake. A multitude of mutant alleles with phenotypic effects have been identified. There is a read-through gene, INS-IGF2, which overlaps with this gene at the 5′ region and with the IGF2 gene at the 3′ region. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants.