Role of organs in metabolism

8 important questions on Role of organs in metabolism

Which GLUT receptor are on which organs?

GLUT2: Intestine, Pancreas, Liver

GLUT3: Brain

GLUT4: Adipose tissue, Muscle

GLUT1: Red blood cell

What happens to an excess of calories (glucose)?

Stored as fats (not glycogen), because fats are more efficient fuel than carbohydrates like glucose. Fat are more reduced

What is the primary storage of fat? And which hormone tells the brain you have eaten enough?

White fat cells (adipocytes) are stored as lipid droplets

Leptin (obesity often associated with leptin resistance)
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What is the role of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)?

It is a hormone that prepares beta cells of the pancreas to amplify their response to incoming glucose by increasing insuline secretion and biosynthesis while also inhibiting glucagon
Proglucagon is cleaved into glucagon or GLP-1

What is special about red blood cells and their glucose uptake?

Erythrocytes (red blood cells) are carriers of oxygen and consumer of blood glucose, due to the absence of mitochondria (anaerobic glycolysis)

What is the difference between skeletal muscle and heart muscle?

Skeletal muscle
  • mainly glucose as substrate
  • producer of lactate
  • NOT dependent on oxygen (O2)
  • Glycerol-3-P shuttle for transport of redox equivalents


Heart muscle
  • mainly fatty acids and ketone bodies as substrates
  • consumer of lactate
  • Dependent on oxygen (O2)
  • Malate/aspartate shuttle for transport of redox equivalents

What couples the integration of muscle and liver metabolism?

Cori cycle transports glucose from liver to muscle and lactate from muscle to liver

What is the role of the Glucose-alanine cycle?

Nitrogen removal between muscle and liver via alanine and glutamine which carrie NH4+ (active during starvation and prolonged exercise)

Glutamate > Alanine transported from muscle to liver

Nitrogen can also be transported as Glutamine through blood circulation

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