Insulin Secretion Flashcards
What is the normal glucose level?
4-7mmol/L
Where is insulin secreted?
Pancreas
Where is glucagon produced?
Alpha cells
Which cells secrete insulin?
Beta cells
What are the three main tissues that act on low blood sugar?
Liver, muscle and adipose tissue
True or False: insulin does not promote lipolysis in adipose tissue?
True
What is lipolysis?
Turns fats into fatty acids
What does activated PKB/Akt promotes?
GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane/ glucose uptake in adipocyte and skeletal muscle
Glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle
Increased lipogenesis and inhibition of gluconeogenesis in liver
What are the actions of glucagon
Acts on the liver via glucagon receptors (G protein coupled receptors) to increase cAMP and PKA
The increase cAMP and PKA leads to
inhibition of glycosis and glycogenesis (i.e. decrease glycogen production)
Stimulation of gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis (i.e. increase glucose production)
How is insulin stored?
In granules in the cytoplasms of beta-cells.
What happens in the “first phase” of insulin release?
initial rapid but transient burst of insulin
What happens in the “second phase” of insulin release?
if the blood glucose concentration remains high, then the rise in insulin secretion is sustained, due to the release of both stored and newly synthesised insulin
What happens in nutrient stimulated insulin release? (amino acids and Fatty acids) on a GLUT2
Amino acids stimulate:*
Fatty acids stimulate FA-acyl-CoA stimulating:*
Fatty acids GPR40 (Gsq) stimulating:*
*the ER increasing calcium causing release.
What happens when glucose stimulates insulin release?
Glucose = Glucose-6-phophate (Glucokinase)
Which activates pyruvate increasing ATP and NADP,H+ , causing potassium channels to close and calcium channels to remain open causing depolarisation, calcium leads to insulin release.
How does the parasympathetic nervous system intervene with insulin secretion?
Parasympathetic innervation, releases acetylcholine which activates DAG which activates Protein Kinase C, causing insulin release
How does the sympathetic nervous system intervene with insulin secretion?
The sympathetic nervous system, decreases the amount of cAMP in the GLUT2, which then decreases PKA, which would normally cause insulin secretion, this reduces insulin secretion.
How are beta cells specialised to allow glucose regulated insulin secretion to occur?
- Member of Hexokinase family
- Key component of glucose sensing machinery
- Sets threshold for glucose stimulated insulin secretion
- Low affinity for glucose
- Lack of inhibition by substrate
What are some other important features of beta-cells?
- GLUT2 has low affinity for glucose
- Islets are highly vascularised
- Number of beta cells tightly controlled
- Highly differentiated -many unique transcription factors
What are the consequences of diabetes?
- Diabetes reduces life expectancy
- Also a major contributor to Kidney Failure, cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke
Definition of diabetes mellitus
Hyperglycaemia due to insufficient insulin secretion
What are the different forms of monogenic diabetes?
- Single gene defects cause diabetes
- Neonatal diabetes
- MODY (maturity onset diabetes of the young)
How is type 2 diabetes caused?
Hyperglycaemia due to insufficient insulin secretion
-Combination of increase insulin resistance and beta cell defects. Can have high resistance to insulin, so glucose levels remain high.
What is the treatment of type 2 diabetes?
- Diet/Exercise
- Drugs to improve insulin sensitivity
- Drugs to simulate insulin secretion
- Drugs to promote glucose excretion via the kidneys
- Insulin injections
How is type 1 diabetes caused?
- Autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas.
- Presence of autoantibodies and auto reactive T-cells directed against islet cells or their antigenic constituents
Type 1 diabetes patients have more or less insulin secreting B cells
Less
What are the four symptoms of type 1 diabetes? (4T)
Toilet
Thirsty
Tired
Thinner
Characteristics of type 1 diabetes?
Young age of onset Sudden onset Thin Family history - 85% spontaneous Insulin deficient Ketoacidosis
Treatments of type 1 diabetes?
- Insulin replacement therapy: injections of insulin pump
- Regular blood glucose monitoring
- Carbohydrate counting/ exercise
- Transplantation - islets or Pancreas
How does insulin cause the lowering of glucose levels?
- Liver, muscle and fat cells to uptake glucose, if the body has enough energy insulin signals the liver to uptake glucose stored as glycogen (glycogenesis).
- Inhibition of lipolysis, which breaks down lipids producing energy.
- (glycolysis) breaking down of glucose for energy.