Insulin is a
Blank
______ hormone and thus triggers a cellular response by
Blank
______.

Question

Insulin is a 
Blank
______ hormone and thus triggers a cellular response by 
Blank
______.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question presents: Insulin is a 
Blank
______ hormone and thus triggers a cellular response by 
Blank
______.

Option 1: 'polypeptide; diffusing into the cell' — Insulin is indeed a polypeptide, but it does not diffuse into the cell to trigger a response. As a peptide hormone, it binds to a receptor on the cell surface and relies on signal transduction cascades rather than crossing the membrane by diffusion. This makes the second blank (diffusing into the cell) incorrect in the context of how peptide hormones generally act.

Option 2: 'steroid; binding to an extracellular receptor' — Steroid hormones are lipid-soluble and typically diffuse through the cell membrane to bind intracellular receptors, not extracellular ones. The descriptor 'steroid' is also incorrect for insulin, which is not a steroid. The mechanism described (binding to an extracellular receptor) does not align with how steroids function, so this choice is flawed on both counts.

Option 3: 'polypeptide; binding to an extracellular receptor' — This matches the established biology of insulin. As a polypeptide hormone, insulin binds to a receptor on the outer surface of target cells (an extracellular receptor), initiating a signal transduction cascade that leads to a cellular response. The two blanks align with core concepts: insulin’s protein nature and its membrane-receptor–mediated mode of action.

Option 4: 'steroid; diffusing into the cell' — This describes how many steroid hormones operate (diffuse across the membrane and interact with intracellular receptors). However, it mislabels insulin as a steroid and also incorrectly implies that the action occurs via intracellular receptor binding after diffusion, which is not how insulin functions. Thus both the hormone type and the receptor location are incorrect for insulin in this context.

In summary, option 3 accurately reflects insulin as a polypeptide hormone that exerts its cellular effects by binding to an extracellular (cell-surface) receptor, in line with the canonical peptide hormone signaling paradigm. The remaining options mischaracterize either the nature of insulin (polypeptide vs steroid) or the mechanism of receptor interaction (extracellular vs intracellular, diffusion vs receptor binding).

Insulin is a Blank hormone and thus triggers a cellular response by Blank .

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Insulin is a Blank ______ hormone and thus triggers a cellular response by Blank ______.