Pancreas Flashcards
what hormones are secreted by the pancreas?
- insulin
- glucagon
- somatostatin
- pancreatic polypeptide
- amylin
what is the target organ for pancreatic hormones?
liver
what aspects of the parasympathetic NS innverate the pancreas?
the vagus nerve stimulates glucagon, somatostatin, insulin, and pancreatic polypeptide secretion.
also Ach and other ntrans act on it
what sympathetic NS ntrans innervate the pancreas?
NE, galanin, NPY
what are the islets of langerhans?
small clusters of endocrine cells in the pancreas. they are made up of many cell types including alpha, beta, delta, epsilon, and PP cells that secrete different products.
which cells of the islets of langerhans secrete glucagon and which secrete insulin?
alpha: glucagon
beta: insulin
what is the role of endopeptidase?
cleaves proinsulin to create active and final insulin product
what is the half life of insulin?
5 minutes
how can you determine how much endogenous insulin one has circulating in their body?
look at C peptide levels
when is insulin at its peak levels?
1 hour after meal
what does “biphasic release of insulin” mean?
phase 1: a rapid initial release of premade insulin
phase 2: (like 5-10 min later) a sustained release of newly made insulin over an hours time
what is pulsatile release of insulin
the biphasic release after a meal
what is the major stimulant of insulin release?
glucose
how does glucose cause insulin release?
- glucose enters B cells via GLUT2
- ATP is made in TCA
- ATP blocks the efflux of K+ which depolarizes the cell
- Ca++ voltage channels open in response and Ca++ enters the cell
4b. PLC and AC can trigger Ca++ release from intracellular stores - Ca++ triggers the exocytosis of insulin secretory granules and insulin is released into circulation
what kind of receptor is the insulin receptor?
receptor tyrosine kinase