insulin
Sign in to saveframe|right|Insulin is a peptide hormone containing two chains cross-linked by disulfide bridges.
AI overview
Insulin is a hormone your body makes that helps control blood sugar levels by allowing cells to absorb glucose for energy. It's essential for metabolism and keeping your body functioning properly, which is why people with diabetes who don't produce enough insulin need treatment to survive.
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Article
25 sectionsContents
- Evolution and species distribution
- Production
- Synthesis
- Structure
- Function
- Secretion
- Oscillations
- Blood insulin level
- Signal transduction
- Physiological effects
- Degradation
- Regulator of endocannabinoid metabolism
- Hypoglycemia
- Diseases and syndromes
- Medical uses
- History of study
- Discovery
- Extraction and purification
- Patent
- Structural analysis and synthesis
- Nobel Prizes
- Controversy
- References
- Further reading
- External links
frame|right|Insulin is a peptide hormone containing two chains cross-linked by disulfide bridges.
Insulin (; ) is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (INS) gene. It is the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and protein by promoting the absorption of glucose from the blood into cells of the liver, fat, and skeletal muscles. In these tissues the absorbed glucose is converted into either glycogen, via glycogenesis, or fats (triglycerides), via lipogenesis; in the liver, glucose is converted into both. Glucose production and secretion by the liver are strongly inhibited by high concentrations of insulin in the blood. Circulating insulin also affects the synthesis of proteins in a wide variety of tissues. It is thus an anabolic hormone, promoting the conversion of small molecules in the blood into large molecules in the cells. Low insulin in the blood has the opposite effect, promoting widespread catabolism, especially of reserve body fat.