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    Feedback Loops - Glucose and Glucagon

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    Anisa Karim Israel
    The control of blood sugar (glucose) by insulin is a negative feedback mechanism where rising blood sugar is sensed by the pancreas, which secretes insulin to lower blood sugar levels back to homeostasis. Insulin causes cells to take up sugar for energy while glucagon released by alpha cells causes the liver to release more glucose when blood sugar drops too low to bring it back up. This feedback loop maintains normal blood sugar levels through the opposing actions of insulin and glucagon.

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    Feedback Loops - Glucose and Glucagon

    Uploaded by

    Anisa Karim Israel
    766 views3 pages
    The control of blood sugar (glucose) by insulin is a negative feedback mechanism where rising blood sugar is sensed by the pancreas, which secretes insulin to lower blood sugar levels back to homeostasis. Insulin causes cells to take up sugar for energy while glucagon released by alpha cells causes the liver to release more glucose when blood sugar drops too low to bring it back up. This feedback loop maintains normal blood sugar levels through the opposing actions of insulin and glucagon.

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    The control of blood sugar (glucose) by insulin is a negative feedback mechanism where rising blood sugar is sensed by the pancreas, which secretes insulin to lower blood sugar levels back to homeostasis. Insulin causes cells to take up sugar for energy while glucagon released by alpha cells causes the liver to release more glucose when blood sugar drops too low to bring it back up. This feedback loop maintains normal blood sugar levels through the opposing actions of insulin and glucagon.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    766 views3 pages

    Feedback Loops - Glucose and Glucagon

    Uploaded by

    Anisa Karim Israel
    The control of blood sugar (glucose) by insulin is a negative feedback mechanism where rising blood sugar is sensed by the pancreas, which secretes insulin to lower blood sugar levels back to homeostasis. Insulin causes cells to take up sugar for energy while glucagon released by alpha cells causes the liver to release more glucose when blood sugar drops too low to bring it back up. This feedback loop maintains normal blood sugar levels through the opposing actions of insulin and glucagon.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
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    The passage discusses how the pancreas regulates blood sugar levels through releasing insulin when blood sugar rises and glucagon when blood sugar falls in order to maintain homeostasis. It also explains what stimuli cause blood sugar to rise or fall.

    When blood sugar rises, the pancreas releases insulin which signals the liver and cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. Insulin lowers blood sugar levels back towards the set point. When blood sugar falls, the pancreas releases glucagon which signals the liver to convert glycogen to glucose and release it into the bloodstream to raise blood sugar levels back towards the set point.

    Glucagon causes the liver to break down glycogen to release glucose, indicating its close association with insulin in regulating blood sugar levels. The role of glucagon is to prevent blood glucose levels from dropping too low by stimulating glycogen breakdown and glucose release from the liver.

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    Feedback Loops: Glucose and Glucagon


    The control of blood sugar (glucose) by insulin is a good example of a negative feedback mechanism. When blood sugar rises, receptors in the
    body sense a change. In turn, the control center (pancreas) secretes insulin into the blood effectively lowering blood sugar levels. Once blood sugar
    levels reach homeostasis, the pancreas stops releasing insulin. Examine the graphic below to understand how this feedback loop works.
    1. The image shows two different types of stimuli (1 and 2) but doesn't explain what the stimuli is that
    causes blood sugar to raise or lower. Based on clues in the graphic, what are the two stimuli? (2 pts)

    The stimuli are eating food makes blood sugar rise and being hungry makes blood sugar
    drop.

    2. What happens when your blood sugar rises? (2 pts)

    When blood sugar rises, the pancreas releases insulin to cause the
    liver and body cells to take up glucose.

    3. What is the effect of glucagon? What cells release glucagon? (4 pts)

    Glucagon causes the liver to break down glycogen to release glucose


    indicating that the two hormones have a close association. The role of
    glucagon in the body is to keep blood glucose levels from dropping
    too low. Alpha cells release glucagon.

    4. What is the effect of insulin? What cells release insulin? (4 pts)

    Insulin causes cells to take up the sugar, needed for cellular energy (ATP, cellular respiration).
    Your cells get their energy from glucose. Any excess sugar is stored in your liver, muscles,
    and fat cells. Your blood sugar level returns to normal after glucose enters your cells. Beta
    cells release insulin.

    5. What is the normal level of glucose in the blood? Why is this called a "set point”? (4 pts)

    The normal level of glucose in the blood is 90mg/100mL. It is called set point because the
    pancreas will release insulin in response to sugar in the blood to return the blood to that set
    level.

    6. What would you expect to happen if your blood sugar was 120 mg / 100 mL? Be specific. (5 pts)

    It is expected that insulin will be secreted by the pancreas when blood sugar is 120 mg/ 100
    mL. This will cause the glucose in the blood to be taken into the liver or into the body cells.

    7. A person with diabetes cannot regulate their blood sugar, mainly because the pancreas does not
    release enough insulin. To treat the disease, a person must monitor their blood sugar, if their blood
    sugar is high, they must take an injection of insulin. How do you think they would need to treat low
    blood sugar? (3 pts)

    If they have low blood sugar, they will need to consume foods that are high in sugar. Eat or
    drink 15 to 20 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates. These are sugary foods without protein or
    fat that are easily converted to sugar in the body. They should try glucose tablets or gel, fruit
    juice, soft drinks, honey, and sugary candy.

    8. In a single sentence, explain the relationship between the pancreas and homeostasis. (2 pts)

    The pancreas maintains homeostasis by regulating the level of sugar in the blood.

    9. Where does the glucose that is released into the blood ultimately end up (2 places)? (2 pts)

    The glucose that is released into the blood ultimately end up in body cells and liver.
    10. Explain how the thermostat in your house uses a negative feedback system to maintain your home's
    temperature. (5 pts)

    As the temperature in the house drops, the thermostat will detect this change and send a
    signal to the furnace to turn on. So that the house returns to the temperature it was set at.

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