Endocrine Pancreas Flashcards
What is energy intake determined by?
Balance of activity in 2 hypothalamic centres
What does the feeding centre promote?
Promotes feelings of hunger and drive to eat
What does the satiety centre promote?
Promotes feelings of fullness by suppressing the feeding centre
How is activity in the feeding and satiety centres controlled?
A complex balance of neural and chemical signals as well as the presence of nutrients in plasma
Glucostatic theory
Food intake is determined by blood glucose: as [BG] increases, the drive to eat decreases
(- Feeding Centre;+ Satiety centre)
Lipostatic theory
Food intake is determined by fat stores: as fat stores increase, the drive to east decreases (- feeding centre; + satiety centre).
What are the 3 categories of energy output?
- Cellular work: transporting molecules across membranes; growth and repair; storage of energy (eg. fat, glycogen, ATP synthesis).
- Mechanical work: movement, either on large scale using muscle or intracellular
- Heat loss: associated with cellular and mechanical work accounts for half our energy output
What is the only part of our energy output we can regulate voluntarily?
Mechanical work done by skeletal muscle
Metabolism
Integration of all biochemical reactions in the body
What are the 3 elements of metabolism?
- Extracting energy from nutrients in food
- Storing that energy
- Utilising that energy for work
Anabolic pathways
Build Up. Net effect is synthesis of large molecules from smaller ones, usually for storage purposes.
Catabolic pathways
Break Down. Net effect is degradation of large molecules into smaller ones, releasing energy for work.
What state do we enter after eating?
Absorptive State where ingested nutrients supply the energy needs of the body and excess is stored. This is an anabolic phase
What state do we enter between meals and overnight?
Post-absorptive State (aka Fasted State) where we rely on body stores to provide energy. This is a catabolic phase.
What is meant by the brain being an obligatory glucose utiliser?
Most cells can use fats, carbohydrates or protein for energy but the brain can only use glucose
What affect does the brain have on the post-absorptive state?
In the post-absorptive state, even though no new carbohydrate is gained by the body we MUST maintain blood glucose concentration [BG] sufficient to meet the brain’s requirements.
Why does hypoglycaemia occur?
Failure to maintain [BG] sufficient to meet the brain’s requirements results in hypoglycaemia which can lead to coma and death
How is BG maintained?
Synthesising glucose from glycogen (glycogenolysis) or amino acids (gluconeogenesis)
Why does BG rise in diabetes?
In diabetes, glucose cannot be taken up by cells so BG rises and glucose is detected in the urine
What is the only structure to have access to BG when it falls below normal range?
Brain
What is the normal range of [BG]?
4.2-6.3 mM
When does hypoglycaemia occur?
[BG] <3mM
What 2 key endocrine hormones maintain [BG]?
- Insulin
- Glucagon
What does 99% of the pancreas produce?
Operates as an exocrine gland releasing NaHCO3 via ducts into the alimentary canal to support digestion
What produces the endocrine hormones of the pancreas?
Islets of Langerhans
What are the 4 types of Islets of Langerhans?
- Alpha cells
- Beta cells
- Delta cells
- F cells
What do the a cells produce?
Glucagon
What do the B cells produce?
Insulin
What do the delta cells produce?
Somatostatin
What do the F cells produce?
Pancreatic polypeptide ( function not really known, may help control of nutrient absorption)
How many islets are there scattered throughout the pancreas?
1-2 million each with a copious blood supply
What does control of BG depend on?
Balance between insulin and glucagon
What state does insulin dominate?
Fed state
What state does glucagon dominate?
Fasted state
What does an increase in insulin result in?
- Increased glucose oxidation
- Increased glycogen synthesis
- Increased fat synthesis
- Increased protein synthesis
What does an increase in glucagon result in?
- Increased glycogenolysis
- Increased gluconeogenesis
- Increased ketogenesis
What is insulin?
Peptide hormone produced by pancreatic B cells
What does insulin stimulate?
Glucose uptake by cells
How is insulin synthesised?
Synthesized as a large preprohormone, preproinsulin, which is then converted to proinsulin in the ER.
How does proinsulin become insulin?
Proinsulin is then packaged as granules in secretory vesicles. Within the granules the proinsulin is cleaved again to give insulin and C-peptide. Insulin is stored in this form until the cell is activated and secretion occurs.
What enters the blood from the GIT during the absorptive state?
During the Absorptive State glucose, amino acids (aa) and fatty acids enter blood from GI Tract. Both glucose and aa’s stimulate insulin secretion but the major stimulus is blood glucose concentration
What is the only hormone which lowers BG?
Insulin
What happens to excess glucose during the absorptive state?
Most cells use glucose as their energy source during the absorptive state. Any excess is stored as glycogen in liver and muscle, and as triacylglycerols (TAG) in liver and adipose tissue
What are amino acids used to do?
Amino acids are used mainly to make new proteins with excess being converted to fat. Also form an energy source.
How are fatty acids stored?
Fatty acids are stored in the form of triglycerides in adipose tissue and liver
What special channel do B cells possess?
B cells have a specific type of K+ ion channel that is sensitive to the [ATP] within the cell = KATP channel
How does glucose enter cells when it is abundant?
When glucose is abundant it enters cells through glucose transport proteins (GLUT) and metabolism increases.
Once glucose enters the cell and increases metabolism what happens?
This increases [ATP] within the cell causing the KATP channel to close. Intracellular [K+ ] rises, depolarising the cell. Voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels open and trigger insulin vesicle exocytosis into the circulation.
How does low [BG] prevent insulin being secreted?
When [BG] is low, [ATP] is low so KATP channels are open so K+ ions flow out removing +ve charge from the cell and hyperpolarizing it, so that voltage-gated Ca2+ channels remain closed and insulin is not secreted.
What is the primary action of insulin?
Binds to tyrosine kinase receptors on the cell membrane of insulin-sensitive tissues (muscle and adipose tissue) to increase glucose uptake by these tissues.
What does insulin stimulate with regards to GLUT4?
Insulin stimulates the mobilization of specific glucose transporters, GLUT-4, which reside in the cytoplasm of unstimulated muscle and adipose cells.