Insulin Insulin Insulin (from Latin "insula", island) is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets; it is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein by promoting the absorption of carbohydrates, especially glucose from the blood into liver, fat and skeletal muscle cells. In these tissues the absorbed glucose is converted into either glycogen via glycogenesis or fats (triglycerides) via lipogenesis, or, in the case of the liver, into both. Glucose production and secretion by the liver is strongly inhibited by high concentrations of insulin in
Salivary gland salivary glands. Less than 100 genes are more specifically expressed in the salivary gland. The salivary gland specific genes are mainly genes that encode for secreted proteins and compared to other organs in the human body; the salivary gland has the highest fraction of secreted genes. The heterogeneous family of proline-rich, human salivary glycoproteins, such as PRB1 and PRH1, are salivary gland specific proteins with highest level of expression. Examples of other specifically expressed proteins include the digestive amylase enzyme AMY1A, the mucin MUC7 and statherin, all of major importance for specific characteristics of saliva. Aging of salivary glands show