contractions.
The increase in contractions causes
Homeostasis and Hormonal Action
Peña & Coronel
What is Homeostasis?
Homeostasis refers to the ability of the body or a cell to
seek and maintain a condition of equilibrium or stability within its
internal environment when dealing with external changes. It is involved
in the maintenance of the constant internal environment which includes
the function of kidney, liver, skin, etc.
 Internal Environment
 In the context of homeostasis, the internal environment
refers to the medium inside the body in which the cells
function.
 Tissue Fluid
 The medium inside your body in which your cells
function.
 Factors affecting cell functions
1. Temperature
– At low temperatures metabolic
reactions occur very slowly. At high temperatures
proteins, including enzymes, are denatured.
2. Volume of water
– If there is too little water, cells will lose
water by osmosis. If there is abundance, the cells
will gain water, swell and burst.
3. Amount of glucose
– Because it is the substrate for
respiration, if there is a lack cells will be deprived
of energy. If there is too much the osmotic balance
of cells will be disrupted and the cells will lose
water.
 Homeostatic conditions control the composition of blood and so
control the composition of tissue fluid.
 Negative Feedback Mechanism
 This is a technique carried out by the cell to resist
any change from the normal.
 Most homeostatic mechanisms use a negative
feedback control loop.
 The loop includes a receptor (sensor) and an
effector.
 The receptor receives input.
 Input is information about the parameter being
monitored.
 A series of events is then triggered which then
allows the effector to perform a corrective
measure.
 As the parameter is continuously monitored, there
are continuous adjustments of the output.
 The result is an oscillation around the ideal level or
set point.
 Positive Feedback Mechanism
 A positive feedback mechanism is the exact
opposite of a negative feedback mechanism. With
negative feedback, the output reduces the original
effect of the stimulus. In a positive feedback
system, the output enhances the original stimulus.
A good example of a positive feedback system is
child birth. During labor, a hormone called oxytocin
is released that intensifies and speeds up
more oxytocin to be released and the cycle goes
on until the baby is born. The birth ends the
release of oxytocin and ends the positive feedback
mechanism.
 Just remember that positive feedback
mechanisms enhance the original stimulus and
negative feedback mechanisms inhibit it.

 Signal Transduction Mechanism
 Signal transduction is defined as the ability of a
cell to change behavior in response to a receptor-
ligand interaction.
 The ligand is the primary messenger.
 As the result of binding the receptor, other
molecules or second messengers are produced
within the target cell.
 Second messengers relay the signal from one
location to another (such as from plasma
membrane to nucleus).
 Often a cascade of changes occur within the cell
which results in a change in the cell/s function or
identity.
 The signal transduction pathway can act to amplify
the cellular response to an external signal.
 Messenger molecules may be amino acids,
peptides, proteins, fatty acids, lipids, nucleosides
or nucleotides.
 Hydrophilic messengers bind to cell membrane
receptors.
 Hydrophobic messengers bind to intracellular
receptors which regulate expression of specific
genes.
Hormones
• A hormone is a chemical produced in one part of the body,
a gland, and carries out its action in another part of the body, target
site.
• The system responsible for producing hormones is the
endocrine system.
• Glands are groups of cells which secrete one or more than
one substances.
• Endocrine glands secrete their materials into the blood.
• There are other glands that secrete materials into ducts
and not the blood.
• These are called exocrine glands.
• Exocrine means ‘secreting to the outside’.
• Endocrine glands include; the pituitary, thyroid gland,
adrenal gland, ovary and testes.
• Hormones are secreted in very small concentrations,
usually a few micrograms per cm3 of blood.
• These concentrations have very large effects on the body.
• Some endocrine glands secrete hormone very quickly,
others take a little more time.
• The effect can also be short lived or last a long time.
• Even though hormones are carried within the blood, only
target cells respond to each hormone.
• For protein hormones, the receptors are on the surface of
the cell.
• The hormone attaches and triggers responses without
entering the cell.
• For hormones that are steroids, the receptors are inside the
cell in the cytoplasm.
What other reasons would allow steroids to pass in but not
proteins?
Control of blood sugar
• The pancreas is the endocrine gland that is responsible for
the control of blood sugar.
• The part of the pancreas that carries out this function is a
group of cells called the islets of Langerhans.
• There are two types of cells in the islets. These are α cells
which secrete glucagon and β cells which secrete insulin.
 Why is it important that blood glucose levels be
controlled?
• Normal blood glucose levels range between 80 and 120 mg
of glucose per 100 cm3 of blood. • If the blood glucose level
falls below this, the cells will not have enough respiratory
substrate and will be unable to carry out their functions.
• This is extremely important for brain cells which can only
use glucose as a respiratory substrate.
 Okay, so you just ate a meal containing carbohydrate.
What happens?
• The blood glucose level rises as digested food is absorbed
from the intestine.
• As this blood passes through the pancreas, α and β cells
detect this.
• The α cells respond by stopping the secretion of glucagon.
• The β cells respond by secreting insulin.
 How Insulin affects the Cell?
1. There is increased absorption of glucose by
muscle cells and adipose tissue. The glucose
enters through special transporter proteins
kept in the cytoplasm. When insulin is
detected by the cells the transporter proteins
move to the plasma membrane. The glucose
transporter in liver and brain is a bit different.
It is always found in the cell membrane.
Consequently, glucose can always move into
these cells.
2. The rate of use of glucose by the cells for
respiration is increased.
3. The rate at which glucose is converted to
glycogen increases. This occurs in the liver
cells. Several enzymes are involved. They
control the phosphorylation of glucose and
the formation of 1, 4 glycosidase bonds
between α glucose molecules.
Diabetes mellitus
• This is a metabolic disease which causes the blood sugar
level to be too high.
• There are two forms:
Juvenile –onset diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes.
Here the pancreas does not secrete insulin.
Non-insulin dependent diabetes. Here insulin is secreted but
it is not enough to control the blood glucose level.
• The symptoms of both types of diabetes are the same.
These include:
1.Glucose in urine
2.Extreme hunger and thirst. The hunger results from the
loss of glucose. The thirst results from the loss of water that
accompanies the glucose.
• Coma resulting from a combination of dehydration, salt loss
and low blood pH.
• Dehydration and salt loss result from excess urination.
• Low blood pH results from the keto-acids produced when
fats are metabolized.
• Fats are metabolized because the rate at which glucose is
taken up by the cells is reduced.
Ethene
• Ethene is a plant growth regulator.
• It is a gas. This is ideal because diffusion can occur easily.
It is also fat soluble and can therefore pass through cell membranes
easily.
• It has several developmental functions in plants.
• The production of ethene is controlled by positive feedback
mechanism. As ethene is produced, the enzymes that control its
production are stimulated even more to increase production. • Ethene
controls many regulatory genes and so result in many changes in a
fruit.
Developmental functions include:
1. It causes ripening of fruit – it is able to do this because
• it causes the conversion of starch to soluble sugar.
• it causes cell wall softening.
• It also triggers an increase in respiration rate.
2. It aids in wound healing – this gas is released at the
site of a wound. It stimulates the formation of a callus
which plugs the wound.
3. It causes etiolation.
Plant Hormones
 Plant hormones are chemicals plants use for
communication, coordination, and development between
their many cells. Like animals, plants rely on these chemical
signals to direct the expression of DNA and the operations of
the cell. Plant hormones are natural substances which
control many aspects of plant development. They control
everything from the length between nodes on the branches
to the programmed death, or senescence seen in many
annual plants.
 Types of Plant Hormones
 Abscisic Acid
 Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant
hormone. ABA functions in many plant
developmental processes, including
seed and bud dormancy, the control of
organ size and stomatal closure.
 Auxins
 Auxins are a powerful growth hormone
produced naturally by plants. They are
found in shoot and root tips and promote
cell division, stem and root growth. They
can also drastically affect plant
orientation by promoting cell division to
one side of the plant in response to
sunlight and gravity.
 Cytokinins
 Cytokinins are plant hormones that
cause increased cell division by
stimulating the process of mitosis. They
are made naturally by plants but have
been synthesized by humans. Increased
mitosis results in plant growth and the
formation of shoots and buds, as well as
the development of fruits and seeds.
 Ethylene
 Ethylene serves as
a hormone in plants. It acts at trace
 levels throughout the life of the plant by
stimulating or regulating the ripening of
fruit, the opening of flowers, and the
abscission (or shedding) of leaves.
 Gibberellins
 Gibberellins (GAs) are plant hormones
that regulate various developmental
processes, including stem elongation,
germination, dormancy, flowering, flower
development and leaf and fruit
senescence.
Animal/ Human Hormone Disorder
 Unlike plant hormones, animal hormones are
often (though not always) produced in
specialized hormone-synthesizing glands (shown
below). The hormones are then secreted from
the glands into the blood stream, where they are
transported throughout the body. There are
many glands and hormones in different animal
species, and we will focus on just a small
collection of them.
In vertebrates, glands and hormones they produce include (note
that the following list is not complete):
 hypothalamus: integrates the endocrine and nervous
systems; receives input from the body and other brain areas and
initiates endocrine responses to environmental changes;
synthesizes hormones which are stored in the posterior pituitary
gland; also synthesizes and secretes regulatory hormones that
control the endocrine cells in the anterior pituitary gland.
Hormones produced include
 growth-hormone releasing hormone: stimulates
release of growth hormone (GH) from the anterior pituitary
 corticotropin-releasing hormone: stimulates release of
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the anterior
pituitary
 thyrotropin-releasing hormone: stimulates release
of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) from the anterior
pituitary
 gonadotropin-releasing hormone: stimulates release
of follicle -stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone
from the anterior pituitary
 antidiuretic hormone (vasopressin): promotes
reabsorption of water by kidneys; stored in posterior
pituitary
 oxytocin: induces uterine contractions labor and milk
release from mammary glands; stored in posterior pituitary
 pituitary gland: the body’s master gland; located at the base of
the brain and attached to the hypothalamus via a stalk called
the pituitary stalk; has two distinct regions: the anterior portion of
the pituitary gland is regulated by releasing or release-inhibiting
hormones produced by the hypothalamus, and the posterior
pituitary receives signals via neurosecretory cells to release
hormones produced by the hypothalamus. Hormones produced
(or secreted) by the gland include:
 anterior pituitary: the following hormones
are produced by the anterior pituitary and released in
response to hormone signals from the hypothalamus
 growth hormone: stimulates growth factors
 adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH): simulates
adrenal glands to secrete glucocorticoids such as
cortisol
 thyroid-stimulating hormone: stimulates thyroid
gland to secrete thyroid hormones
 follicle-stimulating hormone
(FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH): stimulates
production of gametes and sex steroid hormones
 prolactin: stimulates mammary gland growth and
milk production
 posterior pituitary: the following hormones
are produced by the hypothalamus and stored in the
posterior pituitary
 antidiuretic hormone: promotes reabsorption of
water by kidneys; stored in posterior pituitary
 oxytocin: induces uterine contractions during labor
and milk release from mammary glands during
suckling; stored in posterior pituitary
 thyroid gland: butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck;
regulated by the hypothalamus-pituitary axis; produces hormones
involved in regulating metabolism and growth:
 thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3): increase the
basal metabolic rate, affect protein synthesis and other
metabolic processes, help regulate long bone growth
(synergy with growth hormone)
 adrenal glands: two glands, each located on one kidney; consist
of adrenal cortex (outer layer) and adrenal medulla (inner layer),
which each produce different sets of hormones:
 adrenal cortex:
 mineralocorticoids, such
as aldosterone: increases reabsorption of sodium by
kidneys to regulate water balance
 glucocorticoids, such as cortisol and related
hormones: long-term stress response hormones that
increase blood glucose levels by stimulating synthesis of
glucose and gluconeogenesis (converting a non-
carbohydrate to glucose) by liver cells; promote the
release of fatty acids from adipose tissue
 adrenal medulla:
 epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine
(noradrenaline): short-term stress response (“fight-
or-flight”) hormones that increase heart rate, breathing
rate, cardiac muscle contractions, blood pressure, and
blood glucose levels; accelerate the breakdown of
glucose in skeletal muscles and stored fats in adipose
tissue; release of epinephrine and norepinephrine is
stimulated directly by neural impulses from the
sympathetic nervous system
 pancreas: located between the stomach and the proximal
portion of the small intestine; regulates blood glucose levels via
the hormones:
 insulin: decreases blood glucose levels by promoting uptake
of glucose by liver and muscle cells and conversion to
glycogen (a sugar storage molecule)
 glucagon: increases blood glucose levels by promoting
breakdown of glycogen and release of glucose from the liver
and muscle
 gonads: produce sex steroid hormones that promote
development of secondary sex characteristics and regulation of
gonad function:
 ovaries (in females):
 estradiol: regulates development and maintenance of
ovarian and menstrual cycles
 progesterone: prepares uterus for pregnancy
 testes (in males): regulates development and maintenance
of sperm production