Diabetes

Juliana Sett

Beta cells are responsible for the creation, regulation, storage, and synthesis of insulin in

the pancreas. They are the primary source of it and these cells are highly dependent on the body’s

metabolic status (Bartolomé, 2023). Beta cells respond to glucose blood level and react

accordingly. High glucose blood level means the beta cells will release more insulin, above 90

mg, while low glucose blood level, below 90 mg, will mean glucose will be released instead by

alpha cells; A never-ending process to maintain glucose homeostasis (Podobnik et al., 2020).

Both insulin and glucagon are naturally produced, insulin when food is ingested to aid in

digestion to the small intestines through the pancreas. While glucose is released when the body

most commonly participates in an activity and replenishes energy. The body is made aware of the

need of insulin when insulin’s receptor is on the responsive tissues, like skeletal muscle, triggers

an activation of the signaling pathway which function is to first stimulate the transport of

nutrients, that including glucose, from the blood supply to the tissues. Their second function is to

promote the conversion of these nutrients to store macromolecules, such as glycogen (Lizcano &

Alessi, 2002) & (Watson, 2019).

Insulin has two chains, A and B, connected by disulfide bonds, which is post-translational

product of a single-chain precursor, proinsulin. The insulin gene is where most mutations occur

that are associated with diabetes; the impaired folding of proinsulin which turns into progressive

endoplasmic-reticular stress and beta cell death, and with that diabetes. The glucose transporter,

Na+ independent, contains an insulin-responsive isoform which facilitates the movement of

glucose down its concentration gradient across the cell membrane. Glut 1-7 have impacts

however, Glut4 mostly enables these cells to increase their uptake of glucose which lowers the
circulating concentrations. Due to the rapid phosphorylation of glucose and other metabolic

products, the active transporters present in the cell membrane favor the movements of glucose

into cells. Insulin stimulation of target cells mobilizes these transporters from intracellular

compartments to the plasma membrane to facilitate glucose transport. This transport through the

Glut4 is a passive process, while the translocation and reverse reinternalization of these receptors

are energy dependent processes. When insulin cannot bind and activate to the IR, to signal this

process, it contributes to type 2 diabetes. The short-term signal needed for glucose transporter

translocation and the long-term signal needed to maintain a basal level of expression for the

transporters in target cells are seemly controlled by insulin. Without this, these signals are not

sent, as seen with type 1 diabetes that is based on low endogenous insulin levels and even in type

2, where there is a resistance to said insulin not allowing for the signals to be processed properly

(Weiss et al., 2014).

Diabetes disrupts the production, communication, and levels of insulin in each cell.

While type 1 and 2 are similar they have different effects. In Type 1 there is a disallowance in

ability to produce insulin to which the signals needed both long and short-term cannot react as

they await the nonexistence insulin. While type 2 does produce sufficient insulin but no longer

are able to respond to the insulin meaning the same signals are still not able to be carried out,

resulting in both types of diabetes to have concerning blood sugar levels whether that be too high

or low, yet with equal distress (Maja Divjak, 2015).

With the known knowledge of the importance of proper cell to cell communication and

what can occur if insulin is not received by the cell, the effects of this error in signaling can be
profoundly serious, much more than diabetes. With the accumulation of toxins in the

bloodstream, the effects can lead to kidney failure, blindness, and heart disease. Another

complication that can transpire when a mistake in cell communication can be cancer. The

uncontrollable replication of cells and their growth in addition to diabetes can put the person at

risk for liver, pancreas, endometrium, colon, and rectum cancer. Unfortunately, most of these

cancers are incorporated when there is a second issue in the body like hyperinsulinemia,

hyperglycemia, or inflammation (Giovannucci et al., 2010).

References
Bartolomé, A. (2023). The Pancreatic Beta Cell: Editorial. Biomolecules, 13(3), 495–495.

https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13030495

Divjak, M. (2015). Insulin Receptor and Type 2 Diabetes [YouTube Video]. In YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbwRYFMPZS4

Giovannucci, E., Harlan, D. M., Archer, M. C., Bergenstal, R. M., Gapstur, S. M., Habel, L. A.,

Pollak, M., Regensteiner, J. G., & Yee, D. (2010). Diabetes and Cancer: A consensus

report. Diabetes Care, 33(7), 1674–1685. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc10-0666

Lizcano, J. M., & Alessi, D. R. (2002). The insulin signalling pathway. Current Biology, 12(7),

R236–R238. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-9822(02)00777-7

Podobnik, B., Korošak, D., Skelin Klemen, M., Stožer, A., Dolenšek, J., Slak Rupnik, M.,

Ivanov, P. Ch., Holme, P., & Jusup, M. (2020). β Cells Operate Collectively to Help

Maintain Glucose Homeostasis. Biophysical Journal, 118(10), 2588–2595.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2020.04.005

Watson, S. (2019, March 26). How Insulin Works. WebMD; WebMD.

https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/insulin-explained

Weiss, M., Steiner, D. F., & Philipson, L. H. (2014, February). Insulin Biosynthesis, Secretion,

Structure, and Structure-Activity Relationships. Nih.gov; MDText.com, Inc.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279029/

Reflections

Isabelle Reeves
 The most interesting part about our topic, being diabetes, is the way that the beta cells

are continuously attempting to keep homeostasis of the body. I also found it interesting how

much insulin has different effects on the body. The leveling of blood sugar is a constant process

that depends on the cell communication to keep it equal. Blood sugar being too low or too high

is equally bad and can cause the body to shut down. Type 1 diabetes is where not enough

insulin or in some cases zero insulin is produced. Type 2 diabetes is when the body does not

respond to insulin the way that it is intended to because the signals are not able to be carried

out. I enjoyed our topic because it allowed me to find out more information about this process

that I was not aware of. Diabetes runs in my family, so I found it important to know what it

entails and what is happening on a cellular level.

Stephanie Montelongo

Overall, this project really helped me form a complete understanding of a common

disease like diabetes. Because of all the research, I came to the understanding of what diabetes

is specifically, how it happens, how it affects the body and all other related issues that can

develop from diabetes itself. The part that most caught my attention while conducting the

research for this project was the understanding of how the cell does not recognize the insulin

signal the glucose starts to build up in the bloodstream alongside toxins and how that signal

issue causes problems to other organs. It amazes me how every signal thing in the body is

interwoven with one another. If one thing fails, then the whole body is affected. It also caught

my attention how one disease like diabetes can be the cause of other diseases like cancer or

heart problems.
Paula Brache

Even though I already had a good understanding of what diabetes is, this project helped me

understand the process of insulin and how it plays a role in bringing the blood sugar down.

I also finally understood what it meant when people said that diabetes was an autoimmune

disease, which means that the body’s immune system is the one killing the insulin-producing

cells. Through the research, I also learned that a tolerance to insulin in the body is the cause of

type 2 diabetes. I also learned that when people who have diabetes have high blood sugar

levels for a prolonged amount of time start to have other health problems such as kidney

problems and/or losing their sight.

Juliana Sett

The most captivating part of this research topic is that while beta cells have a grand

effect on maintaining glucose homeostasis, there are a lot of minor chemical components that

have an equal if not a more substantial role in this maintenance. It was quite interesting to learn

how they all work together to not only create insulin but knowing how much to. As well as

understanding what occurs when these processes fail whether that be when insulin is not

recognized by the system or when there is simply not any to begin with. It was also informative

to learn the effects that diabetes has on people and learn what it could mean for their future

health.

MC Questions

What cells are the main conductors in insulin production? (A)

 A) Beta cells

B) Alpha cells

C) Delta cells

D) Gamma cells

What factor increases insulin secretion? (D)

A) Norepinephrine

B) Somatostatin

C) Epinephrine

D) Increased blood glucose levels

Long term unhealthy eating habits such as eating foods high in sugar and carbs over a span of

over 10 years can cause? (B)

A) Type 1 Diabetes

B) Type 2 Diabetes

C) Cancer

D) High Blood Pressure