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Pancreatic beta cell
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A pancreatic beta cell lives in one of the pancreas’s islets and makes insulin. Picture a chemical sensor connected to a gate: when the cell detects rising blood glucose, it releases more insulin.
Insulin is the signal that helps many cells take up glucose and promotes storage of the excess. A beta cell therefore does more than make a hormone. It links a change in blood glucose to a response that helps bring the circulating level down.
In brief
A pancreatic beta cell is an endocrine cell in the pancreatic islets that makes and releases insulin. When blood glucose rises, beta cells respond by increasing secretion of this hormone.
Insulin helps many cells take up glucose and promotes its storage, helping lower the amount circulating in the blood. The beta cell therefore acts as a sensor and signal sender: it detects a chemical change and releases the corresponding hormone.
It detects glucose and releases insulin.
Sources (1)
- OpenStax, Rice University17.9 The Endocrine PancreasPublished
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