INSULIN

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INSULIN
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Controlling blood sugar

• Your body cells need glucose (sugar) for energy.
• If you eat a meal high in carbohydrate your blood
  sugar level can go up 20 times
• But it does not stay high.

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• Special cells in your pancreas detect the high
  glucose level in your blood.
• The pancreas makes a hormone called insulin.
• The insulin tells the liver to take glucose out
  of the blood
• It is changed to glycogen in the liver and
  stored.
• So insulin lowers the blood sugar level

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• When you exercise you use up a lot of glucose
• Your blood level falls
• But it does not keep falling
• This time your pancreas makes another hormone
  called glucagon
• When this gets into the blood it travels to the
  liver to change the glycogen back to glucose
• The glucose is released into the blood
• So glucagon raises the blood sugar level

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Diabetes

• Some people have a high level of glucose in their
  blood
• Their pancreas cannot make enough insulin
• This can lead to their blood sugar level becoming
  dangerously high
• This makes them feel tired and thirsty
• If this is left untreated it can lead to weight
  loss and death.

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Detecting diabetes

• Diabetes can be detected if glucose is found in
  the urine
• There is so much glucose in the blood that the
  kidneys cannot reabsorb it.

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Controlling diabetes

• A special low-glucose diet can help if the
  condition is not too severe.
• Special tablets can reduce the blood sugar level
• Diabetics may have to inject themselves with
  insulin.
• The insulin reduces the glucose by changing it to
  glycogen.
• The glycogen is then stored in the liver.

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Genetic engineering

• Until recently the insulin used by diabetics came
  from pigs or cows.
• Most insulin used by diabetics today is made
  using genetic engineering.It is exactly the same
  as human insulin.
• This insulin is better because it is identical to
  human insulin and so does not have harmful side
  effects
• It is acceptable by most people
• The pig and cow insulin was rejected by some
  patients on religious grounds
• It can be made in large amounts

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How it is made

• How its made
• The human gene that codes for the production of
  insulin is identified
• Special enzymes are used to cut the insulin gene
  from the rest of the DNA
• A circular piece of DNA called a plasmid is
  removed from a bacterium.
• The human insulin making gene is put into the
  plasmid
• The plasmid is put into a bacterium
• The bacterium makes insulin
• The bacteria multiply rapidly
• Lots of insulin is made.