Insulin Flashcards
(47 cards)
what is it called if the concentration of glucose in the blood is too low
hypoglycaemia
what is it called if the concentration of glucose in the blood is too high
hyperglycaemia
what is the normal range of glucose
- The normal range is between 3.5-5.5 mmol/L
where can glucose be stored
- liver
- skeletal muscle
- adipose tissue
what is the role of insulin
- released when glucose is too high, it is to make sure that glucose is stored in the cells
what form is glucose stored in
glycogen
what forms the endocrine part of the pancreas
islet of langhernas
what cells are the inslet of langerhans produced from and what do they produce
- Alpha cells producing glucagon
- Beta cells producing insulin
- Delta cells producing somatostatin
- PP cells producing pancreatic
- polypeptide
- Epsilon cells producing ghrelin
These cells help control each other and communicate with each other
name two jobs of the pancreas
- Regulation of insulin secretion to promote glucose storage after meals
- Regulation of glucose output from the liver during fasting
describe the structure of insulin
- polypeptide
- two polypeptide chains linked by three disulphide linkages
- the alpha chain is made out of 21 amino acids and the beta chain is made out of 30 amino acids
- monomers tend to form dimers when insulin concentration increase s
- in the presence of zinc ion and at specific pH dimers form hexamers
what is the storage for of insulin
- In the presence of Zn2+ and at specific pH dimers form hexamers (storage form of insulin)
how is insulin synthesis regulated
- Transcription from the insulin gene
- mRNA stability
- mRNA translation
- post translation modifications
- secretion
insulin synthesis and secretion are….
- insulin synthesis and insulin secretion are largely independent
describe the synthesis of inulin
- insulin is initially synthesized as preproinsulin in pancreatic B cells
- About 5–10 min after its assembly in the endoplasmic reticulum, preproinsulin is processed into proinsulin
- Proinsulin undergoes maturation into active insulin through the action of cellular endopeptidases within the Golgi apparatus
- Endopeptidases cleave off C peptide from insulin by breaking the bonds between lysine 64 and arginine 65, and between arginine 31 and 32, when the proinsulin is cleaved the chains are called chain A and chain B
- Insulin and C-peptide are then stored
- awaiting secretion
for each molecule of insulin you produce you also produce …
a molecular of C peptide
describe the mechanism of insulin secretion
- Glucose enters the β-cells through the glucose transporter
- Glucokinase converts glucose into glucose 6-phosphate (this means that there is an increase in ATP in the cell) acts as the glucose sensor for insulin secretion
- the ATP is generated via the pyruvate through the Krebs cycle and with the electron transport chain, this generates ATP which leads to a rise in the ATP:ADP ratio within the cell
- a rise in ATP causes the ATP sensitive potassium channel to close
- this creates a depolarisation of the membrane
- because of this depolarisation the voltage gated calcium channel ion opens
- this increases the intracellular concentration of calcium
- calcium causes granules containing insulin to move to the membrane
- this then causes the release of insulin by exocytosis
when is insulin secretion only activated
- when glucose is higher in the blood that normal
- The Km of the glucose carrier and of glucokinase ensures that initiation of insulin secretion by glucose occurs only when glucose levels exceed ~5 mM
describe the phases of insulin secretion
- The first phase release is rapidly triggered in response to increase blood glucose level
- The second phase is sustained slow release of newly formed vesicles
name some other factors that can cause insulin release
- Amino acid mainly leucine and arginine – they produce ATP which can cause release of insulin – can cause the depolarisation of the membrane itself
- Intracellular catabolism of amino acids increases the intracellular ATP/ADP ratio
- Leucine acts through allosteric activation of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and it can also be transaminated to α-ketoisocaproate (KIC) that is converted into acetyl-CoA
- Amino acids such as arginine can directly depolarise the plasma membrane
- Gastrointestinally-derived incretins glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)
- Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP)
- Fatty acids
- Parasympathetic release of acetylcholine (via phospholipase C)
- Cholecystokinin (CCK, via phospholipase C)
- Most of them require glucose (they can only potentiate the glucose induced secretion
what do insulin responsive cells have
- they express a specific tyrosine kinase receptor at the plasma membrane
- either IGF-1 or IGF-II
what type of receptors are insulin receptors
tyrosine kinase receptors
describe how the insulin receptor is activated
- In condition where the concentration of glucose is normal range so there is no insulin around
- So there are molecules such as IRS (insulin receptor substrate which si an adaptor protein), PI3K lipid kinase, AKT- protein kinase, these prevent the glucose from going into the cell
- Glucose is hydrophobic so needs a transporter to go into the membrane, in the absence of insulin this glucose transporter is closed
- When insulin binds to the tyrosine kinase receptor, the receptor becomes activated and the receptor becomes phosphorylated
- Because of this phosphorylation IRS binds to the receptor, IRS cannot bind to the receptor if the receptor is not phosphorylated
- Once at the membrane IRS itself gets phosphorylated by the tyrosine kinase activated phosphorylated receptor
- Because IRS is phosphorylated P13K (lipid kinase) can go to the membrane
- Coverts P2 TO P3
- Then AkT(Protein kinase) can now bind to the membrane once P3 has 3 phosphate
- AkT can allow the transport of the transporter for glucose from into the cell to the membrane
- Glucose can then enter the cell
- Glucose can then be converted into glycogen
how is glucose uptakes into cells in the muscle and adipocytes
- Glucose cannot cross the plasma membrane: its uptake requires specific glucose transporters
- The glucose transporter GLUT4 is contained in intracellular vesicles in the absence of insulin
- Insulin-induced Akt activation stimulates GLUT4 translocation to (and insertion into) the plasma membrane and ultimately glucose uptake
Name the type of glucose transporters
Glut 1 - found in all cells, has a low kM
Glut 2 - liver/pancreas uptake (high Km)can act as a glucose sensor in the liver and pancreas
Glut 4 - glucose uptake in muscle and adipose (low Km) cellular location is controlled by insulin