image: The pancreas' glucose regulatory pathways: insulin secretion from the beta cells of the pancreas results in glucose uptake and gluconeogenesis by the liver, up-regulation of the GLUT-4 glucose transporter in muscle, and attenuation of glucagon secretion from the islets. Glucagon secreted by the alpha cells stimulates glycogen breakdown by the liver, thereby releasing glucose in times of need. Somatostatin secreted from the delta cells attenuates both insulin and glucagon secretion. Amylin secreted by beta cells delays gastric emptying, decreases appetite, and suppresses glucagon secretion after a meal. Cells within the islets are in close proximity to one another. This image relates to an article that appeared in the April 14, 2010, issue of Science Translational Medicine. The Perspective paper, by Larry Brown and Elazer R. Edelman of Harvard MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology in Cambridge, Mass., and colleagues was titled, "Optimal Control of Blood Glucose: The Diabetic Patient or the Machine?" view more
Credit: C. Bickel/Science Translational Medicine