Hormone Regulation and Metabolism Flashcards
what type of signals integrate and coordinate the metabolic activities of different tissues?
hormonal signals
what are hormones?
small molecules/proteins that are produced in one tissue. They are released into the circulation and carried to other tissues
What do hormones act through in order to bring about changes in cellular activity?
receptors
what do hormones coordinate?
metabolic activities of several tissues or organs
what are the 3 classifications of hormone actions?
autocrine
paracrine
endocrine
what can hormones be classified by?
the way they get from their point of release to their target tissue
how do autocrine hormones work?
self signalling - affect the same cell that releases them, binding to receptors on the cell surface
how do paracrine hormones work?
adjacent signalling - released into the extracellular space and diffuse to neighboring target cells
what neighboring target cells of paracrine hormones known as?
eicosanoids
how do endocrine hormones work?
distant signalling - released into the blood and carried to target cells throughout the body
give 2 examples of endocrine hormones
insulin and glucagon
what do hormones bind to?
intra and extra cellular receptors in cells
what are hormonal modes of action?
which receptors they bind to
what are the 3 fuel reserves of mammals?
glycogen stored in the liver and in smaller quantities in muscles
large quantities of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in adipose tissues
tissue proteins which can be degraded when necessary to provide fuel
define normoglycemic
relatively constant blood glucose levels
how do hormones manage fuel reserves?
make sure they release appropriate amount of glucose and that an appropriate amount of glucose is converted into stored fuel
what are the main hormones that work to maintain blood glucose levels?
insulin
glucagon
adrenaline
glucocorticids
what does insulin do?
signals that blood glucose is too high, causing cells to take up excess glucose from the blood and convert it to glycogen and TAGs for storage
what does glucagon do when released as a hormone?
signals that blood glucose is too low, causing tissues to produce glucose by glycolysis of glycogen, the liver to create glucose by glyconeogenesis and the liver to oxidise fats for energy to preserve glucose
what does adrenaline do when released as a hormone?
signals impending activity from tissues, causing metabolic changes to account for this
what are the metabolic changes caused by adrenaline?
increased heart rate and blood pressure to increase delivery of oxygen to tissues
increased production of glucose for fuel
increased glycolysis in muscle
increased fatty acid mobilisation to increase availability of fatty acids as fuel
what do glucocorticoids do when released as a hormone?
mediate long term responses to stress or starvation
where is cortisol released from?
the adrenal cortex
what metabolic effects does cortisol have?
increases the release of fatty acids from TAG’s
stimulates the breakdown of non-essential muscle proteins
promotes gluconeogenesis in the liver
what are the 5 stages of glucose homeostasis?
- just after a meal levels of blood glucose are high so all tissues can use glucose as an energy source
- 4-16 hours after a meal blood glucose levels have dropped. This is counterbalanced by the conversion of glycogen to glucose and gluconeogenesis in the liver.
- 16-30 hours after a meal the main source of glucose is gluconeogenesis in the liver. Some tissues have had to start to reduce their glucose consumption
- 2-24 days after the last meal, glycogen stores have been depleted and the only source of glucose is gluconeogenesis which now occurs in the liver and kidney. glucose is restricted in many uses and the brain starts to use ketone bodies as a source of energy
- by 24 days, glucose is scarce and ketone bodies are now the main source of energy in the brain
why are tissues still able to use glucose as an energy source 4-16 hours after a meal?
the conversion of glycogen to glucose and gluconeogenesis in the liver
what does the pancreas produce?
digestive enzymes and hormones involved in glucose homeostasis
what are the clusters of cells in the pancreas called?
islets of Langerhans
what do islets of Langerhans contain?
blood vessels, beta cells, alpha cells, § cells
what do pancreatic alpha cells produce?
glucagon
what do pancreatic beta cells produce?
insulin
what do pancreatic § cells produce?
somoastatin
what happens when the blood running through the eyelet cells has high glucose levels?
beta cells secrete insulin into the blood
what happens when the blood running through the eyelet cells has low glucose levels?
the cells secrete glucagon into the blood
describe what happens in beta cells of the pancreas when blood glucose rises
- GLUT2 transporters carry glucose into the beta cells where it is immediately converted to glucose 6-phosphate by glucokinase and enters glycolysis
- with the higher rate of glucose catabolism the ATP concentration increases causing ATP-gated potassium channels in the plasma membrane to close
- reduced exit of potassium from the cell depolarizes the membrane. this opens voltage gated calcium channels
- the resulting increase in cytosolic calcium triggers the release of insulin by exocytosis
what type of feedback loop inhibits hormone release?
negative feedback loop
how does insulin lower blood glucose?
by stimulating glucose uptake by tissues
what is the reduced blood glucose detected by?
the beta cell as diminished flux through the hexokinase reaction
what effect does the hexokinase reaction have on insulin release?
slows or stops insulin release
what does the pancreas secrete to allow glucose to enter the cells and be converted to glycogen for storage?
insulin
after eating glucose, what enters the liver by the blood stream and the lymphatic system?
glucose and fatty acids (liver) amino acids (lymphatic system)
what happens in the liver after eating glucose?
most glucose is converted to glycogen
some glucose in the liver and fatty acids is converted to TAGs for longer term storage
excess amino acids are converted to pyruvate and acetyl-CoA to also be converted to TAGs
what are TAGs exported to from the liver?
adipose tissues
what types of cells are stimulated to take up glucose by insulin?
muscle and adipose cells
what happens in the fasting state in the pancreas?
secretes glucagon to trigger the release of glucose from glycogen
After some hours without a meal what organ becomes the main source of glucose for the brain?
liver
during the fasted state what molecules are used for gluconeogenesis?
amino acids from the degradation of proteins in liver and muscle and glycerol from the breakdown of triacylglycerols in adipose tissues