Why is C-peptide measured alongside insulin?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: Why is C-peptide measured alongside insulin?

Option 1: It is released in equal amounts to insulin when proinsulin is processed. This is accurate because insulin is produced as proinsulin, which is cleaved to form both insulin and C-peptide in equimolar amounts. Measuring C-peptide alongside insulin helps assess endogenous insulin production. Additional point: unlike insulin, C-peptide is not affected by exogenous insulin administration, since injected insulin does not contain C-peptide.

Option 2: It is secreted only after oral glucose, not IV glucose. This statement is incorrect. C-peptide (and insulin) secretion responds to glucose irrespective of the route of glucose administration; both can be stimulated by IV glucose as well as oral glucose, depending on the stimulus and the patient’s physiology.

Option 3: It is more biologically active than insulin. This is false. C-peptide itself has no major biological activity in terms of glucose regulation compared to insulin; its main clinical use is as a marker of insulin secretion, not for activity.

Option 4: It suppresses glucagon secretion. This is not accurate. C-peptide does not have a known clinically meaningful role in suppressing glucagon secretion; the primary reason to measure it relates to insulin secretion assessment, not glucagon regulation.

In summary, the most defensible reason to measure C-peptide alongside insulin is that they are produced in equimolar amounts during proinsulin processing, enabling assessment of endogenous insulin production and helping distinguish endogenous from exogenous insulin sources. The other options misstate the physiology or clinical role of C-peptide.

MEDS2012 (ND) Module 1 Quiz Wednesday AM

Why is C-peptide measured alongside insulin?

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