Insulin signal transduction pathway is secreted after glucose enters the beta cell and that triggers several other processes in a chain reaction. While insulin is secreted by the pancreas to lower blood glucose levels, glucagon is secreted to raise blood glucose levels. This is why glucagon has been known for decades as a counter-regulatory hormone. When blood glucose levels are low, the pancreas secretes glucagon, which in turn causes the liver to convert stored glycogen polymers into glucose monomers, which is then released into the blood. This process is called glycogenolysis. Liver cells, or hepatocytes, have glucagon receptors which allow for glucagon to attach
Insulin analog with zinc in the blood, forming hexamers. Insulin in the form of a hexamer will not bind to its receptors, so the hexamer has to slowly equilibrate back into its monomers to be biologically useful. Hexameric insulin delivered subcutaneously is not readily available for the body when insulin is needed in larger doses, such as after a meal (although this is more a function of subcutaneously administered insulin, as intravenously dosed insulin is distributed rapidly to the cell receptors, and therefore, avoids this problem). Zinc combinations of insulin are used for slow release of basal insulin. Basal insulin support is