Chapter 14 - Hormonal Coordination Flashcards
What does endocrine system use and for what?
- uses the blood circulatory systems to transport hormones as signalling molecules for communication
What are hormones?
- molecules (proteins/steroids) that are released by endocrine glands directly into the blood
- act as messengers, carrying a signal from the endocrine gland to a specific target organ/tissue
What are the 2 types of hormones?
- steroid hormones (eg. oestrogen and testosterone)
- non steroid hormones - protein and peptide hormones, and derivatives of amino acids (eg. adrenaline, insulin and glucagon)
What is the difference between the 2 types of hormones?
- steroid hormones can pass through the membrane + enter the cell and the nucleus, to have a direct effect on the DNA in the nucleus
- non steroid hormones - proteins are not soluble in (lipids) the phospholipid membrane + do not enter the cell. Non steroid hormones bind to the cell surface membrane that triggers a cascade of responses with cell (release a second messenger inside the cell)
What are endocrine glands?
- ductless glands which have groups of cells that make + release hormone directly into blood in capillaries running through the gland
What are target cells?
- cells receiving an endocrine signal
What must non- steroid hormones target cells possess?
- they must have a complementary shaped receptor on cell surface membrane of target cell
- hormone binds to this receptor + initiates changes in the cell
What are first messengers?
- non-steroid hormones
- signalling molecules outside the cell that bind to the cell surface membrane + initiate an effect inside the cell
Second messengers
- first messengers cause the release of another signalling molecule in the cell
- it stimulates a change in the activity of the cell
- cAMP is the second messenger
What is the adrenal gland?
- endocrine glands
- humans have 2 (above each kidney)
- made up of adrenal cortex and adrenal medulla surrounded by a capsule
What is the adrenal cortex?
- outer layer of the adrenal gland
- controlled by hormones secreted by pituitary gland
What is adrenal medulla?
- inner layer of adrenal gland
- controlled by the nervous system
What does the Adrenal cortex secrete?
- Glucocorticoids
- Mineralocorticoids
- Androgens
What does the Adrenal medulla secrete?
- Adrenaline - increases heart rate and raises blood glucose conc (for energy if u need to fight or flight)
- Noradrenaline - increases heart rate, causes pupils to dilate and widens airways in the lungs and narrows blood vessels in non essential organs to create a higher blood pressure
What is adrenaline?
- hormone released from the adrenal glands, which stimulates the body to prepare for fight/flight
- a polar molecule derived from tyrosine
- means it can’t enter cells through the plasma membrane like a steroid hormone
- must be detected by specialised receptors on the plasma membrane of the target cells
What are the 3 layers within the adrenal cortex?
- zona glomerulosa - outermost
(secretes mineralocorticoids such as aldosterone) - zona fasciculata - middle
(secretes glucocorticoids such as cortisol) - zona reticularis - innermost
(secrete precursor molecules that are used to make sex hormones)
What does the adrenal cortex use cholesterol for?
- produce a range of hormones:
- steroid based + able to enter cells directly by dissolving into the cell surface membrane
- steroid hormones enter nucleus + have direct effect on the DNA to cause protein synthesis
What do steroid hormones do? (4)
- pass through the cell membrane of the target cell
- binds with a specific receptor with a complementary shape in the cytoplasm
- receptor-steroid hormone complex enters nucleus of target cell + binds to another specific receptor on the chromosomal material
- binding stimulates the production of mRNA molecules, which code for the production of proteins
What does mineralocorticoids from the zona glomerulosa do?
- help control the conc of Na and K in the blood
- therefore they contribute to maintaining blood pressure
- aldosterone acts on the cells of the DT + collecting ducts in the kidney
- increases absportion of Na+, decreases absorption of K+ and increases water retention = increases blood pressure
What does glucocorticoids from the zona fasciculata do?
- control the metabolism of carbs, fats and proteins in the liver
- cortisol is released in response to stress/ result of a low blood glucose concentration
- stimulates the production of glucose from stored compounds
What is released by the zona reticularis when incorrect enzymes present to release cortisol ?
- precursor androgens into the blood
- taken up by the ovaries/testes + converted to sex hormones
- sex hormones help development of the secondary sexual characteristics + regulate the production of gametes
Where is adrenaline released from and to? and How?
- adrenal medulla into the blood + transported around the body
- it attaches to receptors on surface of target cells and causes protein G to be activated
- therefore ATP converted into cAMP
- cAMP activates enzyme to hydrolyse glycogen into glucose (PROCESS OF GLYCOGENOLYSIS)
What effects does adrenaline have on the body?
- relax smooth muscle in bronchioles
- ↟stroke volume of the heart
- ↟ heart rate
- causing general vasoconstriction to ↟ blood pressure
- stimulates conversion of glycogen -> glucose via hydrolysis in liver
- dilating the pupils
- increasing mental awarenes
- inhibiting the action of the gut
- causing body hair to stand erect
The pancreas and what is it?
- gland located behind the stomach
- releases hormones to control blood glucose levels (functioning as an ENDOcrine gland)
- also release enzymes for digestion (functioning as an EXOcrine gland)
- mostly made up of exocrine tissue (secreting amylase, proteases and lipases)
What are the 2 main secretions of the pancreas?
- exo = Most of the cells of the pancreas secrete digestive enzymes found in pancreatic juices secreted into small intestine
- endo = hormones which are secreted from the islets of Langerhans into the blood (insulin and glucagon)