Insulin vs Glucagon: what is the difference?
Insulin lowers blood sugar by telling tissues to take glucose in and store it, while glucagon raises it by telling the liver to release stored glucose.
Sources and notes
- The sentence under the titlefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
- Structural similaritycomputedRDKit Morgan/Tanimoto0.43 of 1, a Morgan fingerprint Tanimoto coefficient. It measures shape, not effect.
Side by side
| Insulin | Glucagon | |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weightCalculated PubChem | 5,808 g/molC257H383N65O77S6 | 3,482.7 g/molC153H225N43O49S |
| Hydrogen-bond donorsCalculated PubChem | 78 | 55 |
| FamilyEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Peptides | Peptides |
| Everyday groupEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Body | Body |
| Chemical groupsCalculated Found by rule (RDKit) | Alcohols, Carboxylic Acids, Amines, Aromatics, Amides, Phenols | Alcohols, Carboxylic Acids, Amines, Aromatics, Amides, Phenols |
Sources and notes
- Molecular weightcomputedPubChemComputed from the structure; the formula is under each weight.
- Hydrogen-bond donorscomputedPubChemThe hydrogens on nitrogen or oxygen that each molecule can lend to a hydrogen bond, counted from its structure.
- Familyfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Everyday groupfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Chemical groupscomputedFound by rule (RDKit)Each group is found in the structure by a chemical pattern.
- Identifiersfrom sourcePubChemPubChem CID 118984375 (Insulin) and 16186314 (Glucagon).
In more detail
These are the two halves of blood sugar control and they are released by neighbouring cells in the same organ. Insulin comes from the beta cells of the pancreas when blood glucose rises, and it tells muscle, fat and liver to take glucose out of the blood and store it. Glucagon comes from the alpha cells when glucose falls, and it tells the liver to break glycogen back down and release it. Both are peptide hormones rather than small molecules, which is why neither survives the stomach and both are injected rather than swallowed. Insulin is much the larger of the two, 51 amino acids in two chains against glucagon's single chain of 29.
Sources and notes
- The paragraphfrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notes
Questions
- What is the difference between Insulin and Glucagon?
- Insulin lowers blood sugar by telling tissues to take glucose in and store it, while glucagon raises it by telling the liver to release stored glucose.
- Is Insulin bigger than Glucagon?
- Insulin is the heavier molecule, 5,808 g/mol against 3,482.7 g/mol for Glucagon. Insulin is C257H383N65O77S6 and Glucagon is C153H225N43O49S.
Sources and notes
- The answersfrom sourceMoleculeFinderThe first is the pair's answer line; the others are read off the table above.