Hormones: what are they good for?
Animals use long-range signals, such as hormones and neural signals, to coordinate the actions of distant organs. There is no precise, quantitative framework that explains the problems these control systems must solve and thus predicts their behavior under varied conditions. We consider this problem in the context of blood glucose regulation by the hormone insulin, the failure of which produces…
Hormones play a crucial role in coordinating the actions of distant organs within animals, as they act as long-range signals. However, there is currently no quantitative framework that can explain the challenges these control systems face and accurately predict their behavior under different conditions. The focus of this study is on blood glucose regulation by the hormone insulin and its failure, which leads to diabetes.
The researchers analyzed existing mathematical models of glucose regulation and found that these models can accommodate equivalent control strategies without the presence of hormones. Consequently, they argue that these models are unable to explain the necessity of hormonal regulation. To address this issue, the researchers developed a minimal model of inter-organ variations in local glucose levels.
They discovered that control strategies based on local glucose measurements encounter significant trade-offs when trying to balance various control objectives.
In contrast, hormonal control signals emitted by the pancreas have the ability to overcome these limitations posed by local glucose measurements. By demonstrating the advantages of hormonal control, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the physiological design principles at play. The findings have the potential to shed light on the development of an artificial pancreas, providing a framework for more effective and efficient glucose regulation.
Written by urgent.news from bioRxiv's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
