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 resistance (generally caused by insulin resistance), this down-regulation acts as a kind of positive feedback, increasing the need for insulin. Exercise reverses this process in muscle tissue, but if it is left unchecked, it may contribute to insulin resistance. Elevated blood levels of glucose—regardless of cause—lead to increased glycation of proteins with changes, only a few of which are understood in any detail, in protein function throughout the body. Insulin resistance often is found in people with visceral adiposity (i.e., a high degree of fatty tissue within the abdomen—as distinct from subcutaneous adiposity or fat between the skin and the muscle