Pranjali Palkar & Lata Rajan 1

HORMONES

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Introduction to Hormones

● Hormones are chemical substances that act like

messenger molecules, communicating various
regulatory messages in the body.

● Hormones are produced by specific endocrine glands

and released into the blood and transported to distantly
located target cells.

Hormone

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

Hormones are like messages in a post office

Hormone

Gland

Target cell

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora 4

 Pancreas

● The pancreas has the dual function of secreting

hormones into blood (endocrine) and secreting enzymes
through ducts (exocrine).

● Insulin is secreted from the beta cells of the pancreas

while glucagon is released from the alpha cells of the
pancreas.

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 Pancreas
Liver

Pancreas

Stomach
Small Intestine Pancreatic Duct

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Glucagon

● Glucagon hormone is made up of protein.

● Glucagon promotes breakdown of liver glycogen, for the

release of glucose into the bloodstream for uptake by
other cells like red blood cells. Glycogen is a long chain of
glucose molecules.

● Under glucagon dominance, glucose and ketone bodies

are created in the liver cells.

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Epinephrine / Adrenaline

● Epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) is released from

the adrenal medulla in response to physical stress.

● This hormone is derived from an amino acid (tyrosine).

● Adrenaline or epinephrine helps breakdown of muscle

glycogen, for glucose utilization during high intense
physical activities.

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Insulin
● Insulin hormone is made up of protein

● It has the responsibility to get the glucose delivered to the

various body cells.

● Once the glucose is inside the cell, it can be utilized for

energy instantly.

● Storage of glucose in the form of glycogen in the liver and

the muscle cells, for future energy utilization. Glycogen is a
long chain of glucose.

● Delivery of amino acids to the muscle cells for repair and

growth.
Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora
 Lipogenesis
● Incase a person doesn't eat correctly, generally there
could be abnormally high levels of insulin in the
bloodstream all the time.

● This leads to key lipogenic enzymes getting activated,

causing an increase in the triglycerides in the fat cell.

● This increased size of the fat cell / adipocyte will

concomitantly increase the fat tissue / adipose tissue /
body fat.

● The biochemical process of formation of triglycerides is

called as lipogenesis.

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Lipolysis
● On correct nutrition, under glucagon dominance,
Insulin does not remain chronically elevated.

● Thereafter lipolytic enzymes get activated which leads to

a reduction of the triglycerides within the fat cell.

● This decreases the size of the fat cell / adipocyte which

will concomitantly / simultaneously decrease the fat
tissue / adipose tissue / body fat.

● The biochemical process in which the triglyceride is

broken, is termed as lipolysis.
Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora
 Hypothalamus & the
Pituitary Gland

● Hypothalamus lies just below the thalamus and above

the pituitary gland

● The hypothalamus controls the pituitary by sending

messages in the form of hormones which travel via the
bloodstream and nerves down the pituitary stalk.

● These hormonal signals from the hypothalamus

control the production and release of further hormones
from the pituitary gland.

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

● The pituitary gland, often called as the master gland,
controls several other endocrine glands (such as
thyroid, adrenals, ovaries and testicles).

● The hypothalamus influences the functions of

temperature regulation, food intake, thirst and water
intake, sleep and wake patterns, emotional behaviour
and memory.

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora 13

 Pituitary Gland
Thalamus

Hypothalamus

Pituitary gland
Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora
Thyroid Gland

Thyroid
Gland

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora 15

 Thyroid Gland and its Hormones

● The thyroid gland is located in the neck below the thyroid

cartilage, or Adam’s apple.

● Thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped endocrine gland.

● Thyroid hormones are tetraiodothyronine (T4) and

triiodothyronine (T3) and these are derived from tyrosine
(amino acid) in combination with dietary iodine.

● T4 is converted to T3 through selenium based deiodinase

enzyme, majorly in liver.

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Thyroid Hormones

HYPOTHALAMUS
Thyrotropin Releasing
Hormone
PITUITARY GLAND
Thyroid Stimulating
Hormone (TSH)
THYROID GLAND

T3 T4
Triiodothyronine Tetraiodothyronine / Thyroxine

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Thyroid hormone functions

Thyroid hormones have profound effects on physiological

processes such as:

● Metabolism - is the sum of the chemical reactions that

take place within each cell of a human body and that
provide energy for vital processes.

● For example - breathing, heart rate

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

Thyroid hormone function -
Body temperature regulation

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Thyroid hormone function as
per conventional wisdom

● As per conventional wisdom, an elevated metabolism or

greater energy expenditure (especially in the resting
state) contributes to loss of body fat and vice versa.

● The above statement is NOT correct and gain / loss of

body fat is purely hormone driven and does not relate
to energy expenditure.

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Adaptive Down-regulation of
Thyroid Hormone
● On correct nutrition, when energy is plentiful,
sometimes it is observed that circulating
concentrations of active thyroid hormone are relatively
less.

● This is because the body becomes more responsive to

the thyroid hormones due to beneficial changes in cell
structure and function.

● As a result, it can function normally even at lower T3

levels.
Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora
CORTISOL HORMONE

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Adrenal Gland Capsule

Medulla Cortex
Blood Vessels
Kidney

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora

 Cortisol - Functions

● Cortisol hormone is a lipid based hormone secreted

from the adrenal cortex.
● Cortisol plays a major role in the body’s response to
stress.
● It stimulates glucose production in the liver.
● It also promotes breakdown of glycogen into glucose for
immediate utilization.
● It has anti-inflammatory effects.

Curated by: Pooja Upadhyaya and Shilpi Arora 24