Question

Many physiological conditions are related to particular proteins in cell membranes. The number of insulin receptors in membranes is related to the amount of insulin present around those cells. If the presence of increased insulin results in a decrease in receptors and a decrease in insulin results in an increase in insulin receptors, this would be an example of

Answer 1

Answer: This is an example of downregulation and upregulation.

Explanation:

Downregulation is a process in which cells decrease the production of one of their components, responding to an external stimulus. Upregulation, on the other hand, is when cells increase the production of one of their components in response to an external stimulus.

In this case, the decrease in insulin receptors would make the cell less sensitive to the hormone.

If there's a lot of insulin around those cells, the cell would have to decrease its sensitivity, otherwise, it would metabolise more glucose than the body needs. The contrary would happen if there was too little insulin around those cells, they would have to become more sensitive to it by increasing the number of receptors.