Homeostatic Processes

Homeostasis is the process by which living organisms actively control and maintain balanced body condition to necessitate survival. For an orgasm to survive the body must work hard to maintain balance of vital body conditions such as temperature, water, sugar, protein, fat and many others (Golubitsky, M., et al 2017, P.10). This balance of conditions in body and blood content is controlled by specific body organs such as the kidney and liver which initiate homeostatic processes which will help to bring back the condition to balance hence normal functioning of the body. This paper will discuss about some of the homeostatic processes which helps to bring body conditions to the required levels suitable for normal functioning of the body.

Part 1

Feedback control is the process by which the activity of an enzyme is regulated by one the products it produces. In the body during homeostasis enzymes activities are regulated by the products it produces in order to bring a certain body condition to normal level. Negative feedback is a type of feedback where the body system acts by responding in the opposite path to the existing perturbation. Most of the homeostatic processes are always negative feedback mechanisms. This is simply because majority of the extreme body conditions that require to be regulated are enzyme initiated.

Negative feedback always occurs in steps. First, it starts with a stimulus where the change occurs, and then it is followed by a sensor where the change is spotted and the control is initiated, where the change is responded to and lastly the effectors when the condition is brought to level (Liu, et al 2014, P.135). A good example of negative feedback is when the body temperatures are too high. This condition is normally detected by the nerve cells which send a message to some parts of the brain that normally regulate the temperature and it sends signals for the body to initiate activities such as sweating and reduction of metabolic activities which normally produce heat. Through this, temperatures automatically come to normal level.

Part 2

The liver is an important organ in that helps in homeostasis by controlling the level of glucose in the blood and converting of nitrogenous wastes into forms which can be easily and safely eliminated from the body.  Liver performs the work of metabolizing ammonia which is excessively toxic in the body, produced after proteins have been broken down into nitrogenous substance which is called urea. The urea after been formed is filtered out of blood by the help of the kidneys. Without the help of the liver ammonia cannot be converted into urea and eliminated from the body.

Deamination is the procedure of protein breakdown, in which the amino group of a single protein is detached. When there is an excess intake of proteins into the body, the body does not have a mechanism of storing the proteins. So the end products of the proteins which are the amino acids are transferred into the liver where the excess are converted into usable components such as hydrogen and carbon. During the deamination process through oxidation an amino group is removed from the amino acids to form ammonia (Brigiano, 2018, P.610). Ammonia is very harmful to the body system hence enzymes convert it into urea which is soluble in water less harmful to the body. After the urea has been formed it is filtered by the kidney and send down to the bladder for excretion.

The kidneys’ are bean-shaped, the outer part is convex shaped while the inner side is concave shaped known as the renal hilus and it is in this part that the renal veins and arteries and the urethra are located. The kidneys’ are surrounded by the renal capsule which helps to maintain shape and the protect inner tissues. The kidneys’ plays a very important role in osmoregulation; a process that helps to regulate the osmotic pressure hence ensuring the body fluids are not over diluted or over concentrated and removal of waste products from the body. Osmoregulation in the body is carried out by the means of excretion of urine and involves hormones such as antidiuretic, aldosteron and angiotensin II which helps in increasing the permeability of gathering vessels in the kidney. This increases the diffusion rate and also permits the kidney to reabsorb more water and reduce the amount being excreted. This occurs in case of dehydration in the body cells (Hohmann, S. 2015, P.376). During water logging when there is so much water in the body, the hypothalamus is signaled which in turn sends a message and the antidiuretic hormone ceases to be released by the pituitary glands water reabsortion by the kidneys’ is then stopped. As human beings drinks water it is used by the body to regulate concentration of body fluids, this is carried out by either diluting the body fluids or by the body excreting the excess and less useful fluids in the body.

Part 3

Some of the hormones produced in the endocrine gland are larger in size and hence cannot enter the cells and hence special transport system is required. After being attached to the receptor surface there two modes of actions: first one being the hormone inducing the alteration in permeability of the membrane for substrates and secondly is to produce another messenger within that particular cell to transport the signal of that particular hormone.                                                                                                                    

Glucose is the main source of energy in the human body, due to its large molecular size it cannot diffuse into the cells and hence it is transported into the cells. Insulin is the hormone that facilitates transport of this glucose into the cells (Russell, W.R. 2016, P .368). By transporting glucose into the cells, insulin helps lower the blood glucose level. It also prevents manufacture of glucose from the amino acids, fatty acids and glycogen. Glucagon always raises blood glucose level by exhilarating disintegration of glycogen to form glucose and also activate the liver to release glucose. The level of glucose in the blood is restored to normal by these two pancreatic hormones; insulin and glucagon. When the level of glucose in the blood rises above normal during absorption the beta cells of the pancreas responds by producing insulin. When insulin is released it does the following: stimulates the cells of the body to increase transport of glucose from blood, it also increases the rate of utilization of glucose by the cells. These effects will automatically cause the level of glucose in the blood to come to normal. If the levels of glucose in the blood fall below normal for a state such as fasting, the secretion of insulin is stopped and the alpha cells in the pancreas respond by producing glucagon, a hormone which causes the following effects: first it accelerates the conversion of glycogen to glucose in the liver and also stimulates liver cells to raise glucose synthesis and release in the blood. Through these effects the level of glucose in the blood moves back to normal.

Part 4

Diabetes mellitus

Metabolic disorders occur when unusual chemical reactions in the human body change the ordinary processes of metabolism. Diabetes mellitus is disorder characterized with the inability of the body to be able to produce insulin hence being unable to maintain the required level of glucose in the blood. Inability of the body to produce insulin can caused by beta cells which are not functional or the adipose cells of the patients may be resistant to effects of insulin in the body resulting to reduced ability of the cells to metabolize glucose. As glucose increase in blood excess is excreted through the urine (Kaveeshwar, S.A. and Cornwall, J., 2014, P.45). Due to the large amounts of glucose in the urine, a lot of water will also be excreted which in turn causes the amount if urine being produced to be more, the same will happen to the frequency of urination and thirst, causing an individual to drink more water and frequently.

Treatment and management of diabetes mellitus

There several ways which have been put up to help in the treatment and management of this disorder and they include: First a patients can be introduced to agents of increasing insulin secretion. If the beta cells in pancreas are unable to produce the required level of insulin, these agents can help boost the secretion of insulin. An example is Repaglinide which is given to a patient before each meal. Secondly, agents of increasing insulin action can also be used. Due to insulin resistance, these agents increase tissue sensitivity and also response to insulin actions. Thirdly, exercise can also be used to help in the breakdown of the available glucose in the body to produce energy. Lastly observing diet is also a way of managing the disorder where the patient is advised to consume fewer carbohydrates which are broken down in the body to form glucose.

Currently, drug combinations are being used mostly to minimize insulin therapy and its side effects such as gaining weight, hypoglycemia and many others. Several combinations of drugs are being used according to experience. For example metformin and insulin have in the recent times been used with the aim of improving the action of insulin in metabolism of glucose. Also a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea has been an effective combination as one increases insulin release and the other increases tissue sensitivity to insulin action.

Conclusion

In conclusion, homeostasis is a very vital process in the body of living organisms as it ensures normal level of the body conditions through metabolic activities in the cells. Therefore failure of any metabolic activities in the body leads to disorders which must be well management to ensure survival of an organism. Temperatures, blood glucose level, water, salts and many other conditions need to kept at proper levels for normal functioning of the body cells.

References

Brigiano, F.S., Jeanvoine, Y., Largo, A. and Spezia, R., 2018. The formation of urea in space-I. Ion-molecule, neutral-neutral, and radical gas-phase reactions. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 610, p.A26.

Golubitsky, M., Stewart, I., Best, J., Reed, M. and Nijhout, F., 2017. Homeostasis with multiple inputs. Preprint.pp. 9-12

Hohmann, S., 2015. An integrated view on a eukaryotic osmoregulation system. Current genetics, 61(3), pp.373-382.

Kaveeshwar, S.A. and Cornwall, J., 2014. The current state of diabetes mellitus in India. The Australasian medical journal, 7(1), p.45.

Liu, D., Xiao, Y., Evans, B.S. and Zhang, F., 2014. Negative feedback regulation of fatty acid production based on a malonyl-CoA sensor–actuator. ACS synthetic biology, 4(2), pp.132-140.

Russell, W.R., Baka, A., Björck, I., Delzenne, N., Gao, D., Griffiths, H.R., Hadjilucas, E., Juvonen, K., Lahtinen, S., Lansink, M. and Loon, L.V., 2016. Impact of diet composition on blood glucose regulation. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 56(4), pp.541-590.