Zaina Qishawi
Essay
April, 2nd, 2021
Proteins (inculin)
Protiens are found everywhere, not only in our body but it’s found in certain foods
we eat (meat, cheese, eggs, nuts etc.). Every amino acid has a central carbon atom
which 4 chemical groups are attached to (amino group, carboxyl group, hydrogen
atom, R- group); the functional group (R- group) states the function of the protein
(each amino acid differes by having a different R group and they control the type of
amino acid). There are 20 common natural proteins, 11 of them are made in our
body, the remaining 9 proteins are called esential proteins (we need to find them
from food, vaccines, antibodies, etc.). Not all proteins are made in our body because
some proteins are toxic like snake venom. (see figure below).
(Figure 1)
Hormones are types of proteins; hormones are chemical molecules usually are small
proteins or steroids, their function is to regulate specific phycological processes,
including growth, reproduction, metabolism, and development of the body. For
example, insulin is a protein hormone that helps regulate the blood glucose level,
and that is what is going to be discussed in this essay. (see figure below).
(Figure 2)
Insulin is an essential anabolic hormone made in the pancreas (pancreas is located
in the back of the human’s stomach) and it allows the body to use glucose for energy
and controls the blood sugar levels (glucose uptake), it also helps in glycogenesis,
lipogenesis, and protein synthesis of skeletal muscle and fat tissue through tyrosine
kinase receptor pathway. Insulin is found in between the flowing blood. When cells
are insulin resistant, the blood sugar will become high, when the pancreas senses
high blood sugar it makes more insulin to break the resistance of the cells and soon
will reduce the blood sugar. (see figures below).
The insulin structure
(Figures 3,4)
The term insulin coms from the Latin insula which means island. There are special
areas in the pancreas called islets of Langerhans which they are made up of cells that
produce hormones, the most common types of cells are called beta cells and these
cells make up insulin, the formation of insulin is a bit complicated, it starts from the
beta cell, the beta cell makes a proinsulin molecule, the proinsulin then moves to the
ribosome in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), the proinsulin is breaked down
in the ribosomes and insulin and C peptide are formed from the separation of
proinsulin. (see figures below).
(Figures 5,6,7)
Insulin is released from the pancreas into the bloodstream so that it reaches different
parts of the body. Insulin has many effects on the body but mainly controls how the
body uses different carbohydrates found in certain foods. Insulin is a protein
composed of two chains, an A chain with 21 amino acids in it, and a B chain with
30 amino acids in it with a free C peptide; the two chains are linked together by
sulfur bonds (disulfide bridges), insulin is derived from a prohormone molecule
called proinsulin, proinsulin is unactive but sometimes small amounts of it are
secreted. (see figure below). (see figure below)
the structure of insulin: (Figure 8)
the left side: the constituants of insulin: (carbon is green,
hydrogen is white, oxygen is red, and nitrogen is blue).
The right side: ribbon diagram of insulin hexamer. A
monemer unit is higlighted with the A chain in blue, the B
chain is cyan.
Carbohydrates are broken down in the human body to produce glucose (glucose is
the main energy source that’s used by cells), insulin allows cells in the liver, muscles
and fats to take the glucose as a source of energy so that they can function and work
properly. Without insulin, cells in the body won’t be able to take in energy from
glucose to function properly and they will start malfunctioning. Extra glucose that is
not used by the cells is stored as a fat and it can be used later when glucose levels
are low or when the body needs extra energy. (see figures below)
(Figures 9,10)
There are different types of foods that help increase the amount of insulin in the
body, some examples are: foods that are rich in soluble fiber, oatmeal, flaxseeds,
vegetables, fruits, etc. There are many types of insulin like: rapid- acting insulin,
short- acting insulin, intermediate, acting insulin, mixed insulin, long- acting insulin,
and many more. There are many types of food that can spike (increase) insulin like:
sugary drinks (soda, juices, sports drinks, energy drinks, etc.) baked food which
usually contains trans fats (white rice, bread, pasta), breakfast cereals with added
sugar, yogurts with added sugar, honey and maple syrup.
Insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes) is basically when the liver, muscles, and fats
don’t respond well to insulin and can’t use glucose in the blood as a source of energy.
To make up for it, pancreas produces very high amounts of insulin in order to break
the resistance of the cells, when that happens, the blood sugar level goes up. People
that have type 2 diabetes take in insulin because in order to control your blood sugar
for a short time you may need insulin to treat temporary high blood sugar. There are
so many diseases that insulin resistance can cause like: severe high blood sugar,
severe low blood sugar, heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, eye problems, cancer,
Alzheimer’s disease1, etc. symptoms of insulin resistance can’t be seen (you can’t
feel it), in order to know if you have this disorder you have to get a blood test that
checks your blood sugar levels. There are many factors and risks that stimulate
insulin resistance, and some of these factors are: obesity, inactive lifestyle, diabetes,
health conditions like fatty liver disease and polycystic ovary syndrome, smoking,
age (more likely after 45), hormonal disorder, sleep problems, medication like
steroids, etc. (see figure below)
(Figure 11)
First figure, pancreas is normal.
Second figure, there is impairment of the beta cells (the
ones that make proinsulin which is the most important
organ in producing insulin), diabetes type 1.
Third figure, reduction of insulin because the beta cells
are now damaged so they can’t produce proinsulin in
order to create insulin, diabetes type 2.
1
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/insulin-resistance-syndrome
There are many natural solutions in order to boost insulin sensitivity like: get more
sleep, exercise more, reduce stress, loos weight, eat more soluble fiber, drink more
green tea, try to avoid trans fats, try to reduce eating sugar2, etc. those are natural
solution for insulin, but it cannot cure diabetes. Natural solutions for curing diabetes
are to not get involved with any type of sugary substances like chocolate, fast food,
fats, etc. but those just temporary, in order to try and cure diabetes completely, we
need science; scientists around the world have researched and tried so many
experiments in order to cure diabetes but they couldn’t do that, the only thing they
managed to do is medicines for type 2 diabetes, and insulin needles for type 1
diabetes (no surgeries are made to cure diabetes). Diabetes has lots of complications
that scientists don’t understand but hopefully will understand in the future.
To summit up what has been said, this essay discussed what is the definition of
proteins, the definition of hormones, the production of insulin, the structure of
insulin, the role of insulin in our body, related diseases and symptoms of insulin, and
cures of diabetes type 2. in my opinion, I think that trying to find a solution for
diabetes affected the world socially, this is because, the scientists that are specialized
for finding a cure for this disease are all around the world so they had to
communicate socially by travelling to each other’s country and learning each other’s
culture, has helped a lot around the world in many ways like, those scientists shared
their researches by travelling around the world and hearing other scientists opinions
in their research.
References:
2
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/improve-insulin-sensitivity#TOC_TITLE_HDR_16
Websites:
1- Higuera, V. (n.d.). About insulin: What it is, how it works, and more.
Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/insulin
2- Raman, R. (n.d.). 14 natural ways to improve your insulin sensitivity.
Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/improve-insulinsensitivity#TOC_TITLE_HDR_16
3- You
and
your
hormones.
(n.d.).
You
and
Your
Hormones. https://www.yourhormones.info/hormones/insulin/
4- Insulin
|
Definition,
structure,
&
function.
(n.d.).
Encyclopedia
Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/insulin
5- Insulin
resistance.
(2003,
February
3).
WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/insulin-resistance-syndrome
6- What is the function of insulin? (2019, November 11). Latest Medical News, Clinical
Trials,
Guidelines
Today
on
Medscape. https://www.medscape.com/answers/2089224-170947/what-is-thefunction-of-insulin
7- Diabetes
and
insulin.
(2019). https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/ConditionsAndTreatments/diabe
tes-and-insulin
8- Type
2
diabetes
and
insulin.
(n.d.).
EndocrineWeb. https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/type-2-diabetes/type-2diabetes-insulin
9- Fletcher, J. (n.d.). Foods for stabilizing insulin and blood sugar levels. Medical and
health information. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323529
Images:
1- Mrabet, Y. (2007, August 12). AminoAcidball ku.svg [Structure générale d'un
acide
aminé].
Wikimedia
Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AminoAcidball.svg
2345-
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormone
https://caresdiabetes.com/
https://www.labpedia.net/c-peptide-insulin-c-peptide-proinsulin-c-peptide/
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/nsulin-production-in-thePancreas_fig1_318731479
6- https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Insulin-synthesis-and-secretion-process-Afterpreproinsulin-mRNA-transcription_fig2_6598978
7- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin
8- https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/understanding-insulin/0/steps/22457
9- https://www.pinterest.dk/pin/631911391446711560/
10- https://www.endocrineweb.com/endocrinology/overview-pancreas