Insulin signal transduction pathway (also known as glucose homeostasis) also exhibits oscillatory behavior. On a pathological basis, this topic is crucial to understanding certain disorders in the body such as diabetes, hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. The functioning of a signal transduction pathway is based on extra-cellular signaling that in turn creates a response which causes other subsequent responses, hence creating a chain reaction, or cascade. During the course of signaling, the cell uses each response for accomplishing some kind of a purpose along the way. Insulin secretion mechanism is a common example of signal transduction pathway mechanism. Insulin is produced by the pancreas in a
Insulin resistance the body is resistant to insulin action. Levels between 4.0 and 7.5 mg/min are not definitive, and suggest "impaired glucose tolerance," an early sign of insulin resistance. This basic technique may be enhanced significantly by the use of glucose tracers. Glucose may be labeled with either stable or radioactive atoms. Commonly used tracers are 3-H glucose (radioactive), 6,6 H-glucose (stable) and 1-C Glucose (stable). Prior to beginning the hyperinsulinemic period, a 3h tracer infusion enables one to determine the basal rate of glucose production. During the clamp, the plasma tracer concentrations enable the calculation of whole-body insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism, as