Insulin secretion or its action is affected in Diabetes Mellitus. It is the hormone that is responsible in regulating the blood glucose level. The blood glucose level rises when glucose is absorbed from the gut after a meal.
The pancreas detects the rise in glucose level. Pancreas is the organ involved in secreting insulin. There are special groups of cells in pancreas called islets of Langerhan. These islets have two kinds of cells, alpha and beta, secreting glucagon and insulin respectively. Both hormones are involved in regulating the blood glucose level.
When the pancreas detects the rise in blood glucose, beta cells start secreting insulin. Insulin goes and acts on several organs and stimulates activities that reduce blood glucose level and inhibit activities that increase blood glucose level.
It acts by binding with insulin receptors that are situated in cell surface. Then cascades of events that are involved in intracellular signal transduction take place.
Liver is one of the major organs, on which insulin acts on. Insulin stimulates rapid removal of glucose from the circulation, by stimulating intracellular breakdown of glucose and inhibits gluconeogenesis (production of glucose from other molecules). Insulin also acts on skeletal muscle and adipose tissue to increase glucose uptake from the circulation. It stimulates lipogenesis in adipose tissues.
All the above reactions lead to rapid removal of glucose from the circulation and thereby reducing the blood glucose level. Therefore, any defect in insulin secretion or its action leads to increased blood glucose levels.
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