Overview
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas does not produce insulin to help regulate the blood sugar of the body. To provide insulin for the body, a diabetic must inject themselves with man made insulin that the cells will accept and will help lower blood sugar levels. Although Type 1 diabetes is more commonly diagnosed to children, it can be diagnosed to anyone at any point of their life.
The picture above shows the process of insulin from outside of the cell entering the insulin receptor. The insulin never actually enters the cell, but the insulin receptor sends a signal to the glucose transport protein. The signal sent lets the transporter protein aware that the cell is ready to receive the glucose, therefore the transporter opens and lets the glucose into the cell.