Pancreas + diabetes

Pancreas

  • Retroperitoneal (apart from tail)
  • 12-15cm long
  • Lateral to medial: tail - body- neck- head - unicinate process
  • Head and uncinate process enclosed in 3/4 duodenum

Function

Endocrine
Hormones straight into bloodstream from islets of Langerhands: cluster of cells

Exocrine

  • GI tract: secreting digestive enzymes
  • Insulin + glucagon
  • Regulate blood glucose
  • Somatostatin + pancreatic polypeptide
  • Alpha cell: Glucagon
  • Beta cell: Insulin
  • Delta cell: Somatostatin inhibits insulin and glucagon
  • F cells: inhibits somatostatin

Insulin

  • Beta cells
    • 2mg secreted per day
    • 6-10 mg in pancreas
  • High blood glucose:
    • Stimulated PSNS
    • Intestine secretes incretins (gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon like polypeptide -1 (GLP-1) when glucose ingested - stimulates release of insulin
  • Increase uptake + storage of glucose (lowers blood glucose levels)
  • Glucose stored as glycogen
  • Insulin targets glucose uptake in liver, muscle and adipose tissue

Glucagon

  • Alpha cells
  • Secreted response low blood glucose level (fasting)
  • Targets mainly liver, stimulate breakdown glycogen to glucose
  • Inhibits glycogen/fatty acid synthesis (diminishing production of pyruvate)
  • Gluconeogenesis in liver
  • Inhibits glycolysis
  • Glucagon release glucose from liver cells, increase blood glucose levels

Transporters

Facilitated glucose transporters (GLUT)

  • Glucose transported into cells via facilitated diffusion

Sodium dependent glucose transporters

  • Glucose uptake from intestinal lumen into villi of lining

GLUT

GLUT 3

GLUT 4

GLUT 2

GLUT 5

GLUT 1

Brain, erythrocytes, placenta and fetal tissue

High affinity binding for glucose + uptake from blood stream constant

Liver , kidney, intestine, pancreatic beta cell

Lower but high. Intracellular + extracellular equillibrate across membrane
Glucose entry proportional to blood glucose levels

Brain

Higher affinity GLUT 2
Preferential uptake hypoglycemia

Muscle + adipose tissue
: Signalling cascade culminate movement cytoplasmic vesicles towards cell surface membrane

INSULIN SENSITIVE uptake glucose after food intake
Medium affinity.
Recruits transporters from intracellular stores, increasing glucose uptake

Jejunum

Medium affinity
Fructose intake

  • Higher affinity transporters: brain
  • Liver not insulin dependent glucose uptake . Insulin accelerates uptake via GLUT 2 in liver

Insulin in muscle and adipose tissue

  • Insulin binds receptor kinase cell membrane: phosphorylates insulin receptor substrate (IRS-1)
  • Protein kinase cascade
  • More GLUT 4 integrated plasma membrane
  • Increased glucose uptake via GLUT 4 into cell
  • Glycogen synthesized from glucose and stored in cells

Insulin in liver

  • GLUT 2 not dependent insulin, accelerates glucose uptake liver
  • Glucokinase sites occupied by glucsoe, phosphorylated into G6P
  • Increase in G6P build up glycogen stores
  • glycogen released as glucose

Adrenal glands glucose reg

Prolonged fasting form of stress: stress results in cortisol release

  • Breakdown glycogen
  • Conversion amino acids, lactate, glycerol to glucose in liver
  • Promotes breakdown of body portein - amino acid- glucose in liver

During fasting, small amount adrenaline secreted into circulation

  • Promotes breakdown glycogen to glucose in skeletal muscle
  • Not released in to blood, additional energy source muscle cells
  • Little lactate may be produced - glucose into liver- into bloodstream

Diabetes

Type 2

Type 1

  • Autoimmune destruction beta cells
  • Little/no insulin produced
  • In childhood/before 40
  • Insulin treatment
  • Thirst, polyuria and weight loss
  • Body uses lipids and proteins to make glucose
  • Uncontrolled catabolism: Ketoacidosis
    • Peripheral lipolysis: circulating free fatty acicds
    • Converted into acidic ketones in liver: metabolic acidosis
  • Peripheral tissues not as responsive to insulin, more insulin produced beta cells compensate (hyperinsulinaemia)
  • Function of beta cells decline, cannot compensate for insulin resistance hyperglycaemia - diabetes
  • Usually over 40
  • Obesity major risk factor