Pancreas, Insulin, and glucose lowering drugs

Question 1

What does insulin do?

Answer 1

• is released when sugar levels in blood are high
• binds to receptor on cell membrane
• causes GLUT4 transporter to go to membrane, resulting in the uptake of sugar from the bloodstream

Question 2

Type 1 vs Type 2 diabetes

Answer 2

Type 1
- genetic
- occurs around age 14
- pancreas stops producing insulin
- require insulin to survive
- often fail to to elicit normal glucagon response too

Type 2
- caused by lifestyle
- tissues have become resistant to insulin

Question 3

Prandial vs Basal insulin

Answer 3

Prandial
- rapid actin
- monomer
- peaks within 2-5 minutes so food must be consumed to avoid hypoglycemia

Long-Acting Insulin
- complex hexamer/aggregate to allow for slow release
- binds to albumin for slow release
- never really peaks
used for basal levels of insulin