Glucose - Enzymes - Food for Thought

Glucose and Enzymes

All chemical reactions require enzymes to catalyze the reactions. How are enzymes produced?

In cells the nucleus, an organelle, contains DNA that contains our genome. The genome contains all the information that constitutes you. It is unique.





All of us basically share a likeness (physical, chemical, psychological, etc.)  to all that we are. Very small differences make us unique.

When a cell receives a message, from somewhere in our body ,that glucose is on its way to supply a basic ingredient for energy production our cells prepare to receive the glucose.

It seems simple. Glucose appears outside the cell, enters the cell, and produces energy that is immediately used or is stored for future use. There are two ways glucose can enter the cell. Both work when a person doesn't have diabetes.

Type I Diabetes occurs early in life and the cause is lack of insulin.

Type II Diabetes occurs later in life and insulin production is available. The factor that transports insulin into the cell is missing. 

The cell needs a factor present for glucose to enter the cell. In the nucleus of a cell there are two important molecules. DNA and RNA. Like a blueprint, the DNA has a code for the manufacture of the enzyme. It replicates the code for RNA. RNA receives the information and forms a complementary code. It begins the manufacture of a faulty trigger that doesn't insulin to enter the cell interior.

All this takes place in the nucleus and inner cell machinery. Here is where trouble can begin for a Type II diabetic. What if the DNA message has changed? What caused the message to change? How does the body compensate for the inability of insulin to function? Lots of questions.

If the cell manufactures a faulty factor, from information received from the nucleus, it won't catalyze the reaction that makes it possible for glucose to enter the cell. The result is the loss or ability to activate the factor that facilitates the cell membrane to ferry the glucose into the cell interior.

It doesn't matter if the levels of insulin are normal. Glucose that doesn't enter a cell means the glucose in the blood begins to rise. There is a solution from the kidneys. The second way glucose can enter a cell, and out of the bloodstream, is based on the sodium/potassium pump. The Sodium+/Potassium+ active transport Pump allows glucose, that is reabsorbed from the kidneys, to piggy-back with the Sodium with its transporter. The Sodium Transporter helps glucose enter the cell. Even though normal amounts of insulin are available but can't function to lower blood glucose the secondary active transport system is available.

To make the removal of glucose easier diet plays a role in the Type II diabetic. That helps control blood glucose and allows normal levels of glucose in the bloodstream.

With you always in understanding the confusing relationship of glucose, insulin and secondary active transport systems in the kidneys.