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