Insulin, Glucagon, Diabetes Flashcards
what two important hormones do the islets secrete
glucagon and insulin
what 2 cells make up the physiological anatomy of the pancreas and which cells make up most of it
acini and islets of langerhans
acini make up most of the pancreas
what do the acini cells secrete
secrete digestive juices into small intestines (duodenum)
describe islets (4)
small,
1-2 million in a pancreas,
located around capillaries,
discovered by paul langerhans in 1869
what are the 3 major types of cells (% dominance) of the islets and what do they secrete
-alpha cells: 25% secrete glucagon
-beta cells: 60% secret insulin
-delta cells: 10% secrete somatostatin (GH-inhibiting H) secreted within islets not into circulation
what does the somatostatin do in the islets and in ant pituitary
islets: regulate alpha and beta cells
ant pituitary: controls somatotopes
describe how the 3 H antagonize each other and why are they not produced at same time
-insulin inh glucagon secretion
-glucagon inh insulin secretion
-somatostatin inh insulin and glucagon secretion
to maintain homeostasis of blood glucose
describe chemistry of insulin (2)
small prot
composed of 2< aa connected with 2 disulphide bonds
why are the disulphide bonds important for insulin
because when they are broken, insulin looses its functional activity
steps of insulin synthesis in beta cells
1- insulin RNA attaches to ER to form a precursor insulin preH (kept as reservoir for future insulin use, not ready to be used by body)
2- preH cleaved in the ER to form proinsulin
3- further cleaved in Golgi apparatus to form insulin
4- insulin is packed into secretory granules
5-secreted into blood when glucose levels are high
4-
what happens to the rest of the proinsulin when the A chain and B chain are cleaved off
it gets degraded in the secretory granule and becomes waste
describe pharmokinetics of insulin (4)
- plasma half life is only 5-6 min
- bc of half life, insulin function can be turned off fast if glucose levels go back to normal
-total clearance is 10-15 min
-mainly cleared in the liver which assumes that its not being synthesized and secreted
what can happen if insulin is continually secreted
can overcome clearance rate and stay elevated for long time and is problematic in diabetes
what are the 2 parts of the insulin receptors
one part will react with only insulin and the other part will transmit a signal inside the cell
can insulin cross the cell mem on its own
no it needs a receptor at the surface
describe an insulin receptor
-protein w 4 subunits (subunit= piece of prot that needs to form w other subunits to become functional)
- 2 alpha subunits that lie outside cell mem
- 2 beta subunits that cross cell meme into cytoplasm
steps of insulin receptor actions
1- beta chains of insulin receptor changes shape once insulin binds to alpha cells (phosphorylation)
2- insulin signalling
3- vesicle moves and starts to fuse w plasma mem
4-glucose channels are now imbedded in plasma mem
5- gradient created by muscle’s need to drives glucose into cell
6-after 5-6 min, insulin isn’t required anymore so it detaches from alpha chains
7- beta chains change shape again to go back to og state
8-vesicle and glucose channels return to normal place
t/f insulin can only act for 5-6 min
false it can act for longer if a larger meal filled with carbs is ingested
t/f glucose is very lipophilic and hydrophobic and so it can’t enter the cell w/o receptor prot channels
false its lipophobic and hydrophilic
what is the most important function of insulin
regulating blood glucose (effect on carbohydrates metabolism)
what happens minutes after eating a meal or consuming nutrients (carbs)
insulin rises
promotion of glucose uptake by tissues especially muscle
allows storage of glucose in the liver as glycogen
what represents the first big peak after a meal and the second large constant peak
first peak: insulin released from beta cells
second peak: proinsulin is being converted to insulin so takes longer bc of complex carbs being processed, absorbed and digested
why is glucose phosphorylated
bc G-6-P can’t escape the liver once its phosphorylated
bc extra E from P bond helps it turn into glycogen
what is the most important effect of insulin
cause glucose to be absrobed by the liver
how does insulin cause glucose to be absorbed by the liver
-insulin enhances glucose phosphorylation by glucokinase
-once phosphorylated, G-6-P can’t escape liver and is transformed into glycogen
what effect does insulin have on glucokinase
it stimulates glucokinase in liver
enhances glucose phosphorylation
enhances glucose uptkae from blood by liver cells
what effects does insulin have on glycogen synthase
it activates glycogen synthase which promotes glycogen synthesis (polymerization of glucose)
what effects does insulin have on glucose phosphatase
it inactivates glucose phosphatase which reduces the splitting of P from the phosphorylated glucose which then reduces the release of free glucose back into the blood
what effects does insulin have on glycogen (liver) phosphorylase
it inactivates the glycogen phosphorylase which prevents the breakdown of glycogen into glucose in the liver
what happens if there is still an excess of glucose after insulin has add its effects and glucose has reached the tissues
some tissues can store the extra glucose as glycogen (m. for ex)
what happens 2 hours after a meal to the blood glucose
it falls to baselin levels after 2 hours and then it drops below baselin which is due to the effects of insulin
what can happen after the drop below baseline of glucose 2 hours after a meal
insulin secretion from the beta cells is decreased
what effects occur after insulin disappears
-in liver, glycogen phosphorylase is activated causing glycogen to split into G-P, which stops the synthesis of glycogen and prevents glucose uptake from blood
-glucose phosphorylase is activated causing P to split from glucose and allowing free glucose to diffuse back into the blood
what happens to the m. at rest (no recent meal) when the glucose required by m. is minimal
-m. mem is only slighlty permeable to glucose (no food intake so no insulin present)
-insulin isn’t absolutely required
-energy mainly depends on fatty acids
what happens to the m. at rest soon after a meal has been eaten
-glucose concentration in the blood is higher
-insulin release is stimulated in islets (binds to receptors)
-glucose uptake into m. cells is enhanced by up to 15 fold
-m. can use glucose for E
-or extra glucose is stored as glycogen in m.
what are the glucose needs met by when a muscle is being used for ex: mod or heavy exercise
-insulin promotes glucose uptake, assuming a meal was eaten recently
-increased blood flow promotes glucose uptake regardless of insulin (only m. can do this w/o insulin present)
-metabolic activity of the working m. promotes glucose uptake regardless of insulin
does glucose need to be phosphorylated to be trapped in m.
no
a ___ m. might require ___ to get glucose. however, when a m. is being ____, it can obtain ____ without ____.
resting, insulin
used, glucose, insulin