Insulin In The Body: A Genetic Analysis

Insulin is the body’s main way to lower the blood glucose levels when they get to high. When the blood glucose levels get to low the hormone glycogen is produced. They both come from the pancreas but insulin also helps glucose get transported into the cells (Quesada et al., 2008). The body uses glucose as a primary source of energy through a variety of metabolic reactions. Glucose is a sugar that gets broken down through glycolysis into ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) inside of the cell (Stanfield, 2013). When there is an excess of glucose, the liver converts it to glycogen through a process called glycogenesis (Gebel, 2012). After we eat there is a high level of sugar in our blood. Our pancreas produces a hormone called insulin in the islets of Langerhans to regulate the blood glucose in our body. The high blood glucose stimulates Ca 2+ and signals insulin secretion form β-cell in the pancreas. When glucose levels are low, electrical activity triggers oscillatory Ca2+ in a-cells and they release the hormone glucagon raising the concentration of glucose in the blood (Quesada et al., 2008). The role of insulin is inhibition of the syntheses of glucose by the liver. This is called glycogenesis. Activation of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase allows …show more content…
The liver will absorb the excess glucose and store it through a process called glycogenesis. This is the process of combining glucose into bundles called glycogen (Gebel, 2012). Once glucose is in the liver the glucose is catalyzed by glycogen synthase and requires some preformed glycogen to which the new glucose will be attached. Glycogen is formed by binding a glucose residue and a tyrosine residue of a protein called glycogenin. It is stored until the blood glucose levels are low. When they are needed they break apart and are put back into the blood stream using a process called gluconeogenesis (Gropper,