Message definition (Insulin ) The description of first phase release is as follows: * Glucose enters the β-cells through the [[glucose transporters]], [[Glucose transporter|GLUT 2]]. At low blood sugar levels little glucose enters the β-cells; at high blood glucose concentrations large quantities of glucose enter these cells. * The glucose that enters the β-cell is phosphorylated to [[glucose-6-phosphate]] (G-6-P) by [[glucokinase]] ([[Hexokinase#Types of mammalian hexokinase|hexokinase IV]]) which is not inhibited by G-6-P in the way that the hexokinases in other tissues (hexokinase I – III) are affected by this product. This means that the intracellular G-6-P concentration remains proportional to the blood sugar concentration. * Glucose-6-phosphate enters [[Glycolysis|glycolytic pathway]] and then, via the [[pyruvate dehydrogenase]] reaction, into the [[Krebs cycle]], where multiple, high-energy [[adenosine triphosphate|ATP]] molecules are produced by the oxidation of [[acetyl CoA]] (the Krebs cycle substrate), leading to a rise in the ATP:ADP ratio within the cell. * An increased intracellular ATP:ADP ratio closes the ATP-sensitive SUR1/[[Kir6.2]] [[potassium channel]] (see [[sulfonylurea receptor]]). This prevents potassium ions (K<sup>+</sup>) from leaving the cell by facilitated diffusion, leading to a buildup of intracellular potassium ions. As a result, the inside of the cell becomes less negative with respect to the outside, leading to the depolarization of the cell surface membrane. * Upon [[depolarization]], voltage-gated [[calcium channels|calcium ion (Ca<sup>2+</sup>) channels]] open, allowing calcium ions to move into the cell by facilitated diffusion. * The cytosolic calcium ion concentration can also be increased by calcium release from intracellular stores via activation of ryanodine receptors. * The calcium ion concentration in the cytosol of the beta cells can also, or additionally, be increased through the activation of [[phospholipase|phospholipase C]] resulting from the binding of an extracellular [[ligand]] (hormone or neurotransmitter) to a [[G protein]]-coupled membrane receptor. Phospholipase C cleaves the membrane phospholipid, [[phosphatidyl inositol 4,5-bisphosphate]], into [[inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate]] and [[diglyceride|diacylglycerol]]. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) then binds to receptor proteins in the plasma membrane of the [[endoplasmic reticulum]] (ER). This allows the release of Ca<sup>2+</sup> ions from the ER via IP3-gated channels, which raises the cytosolic concentration of calcium ions independently of the effects of a high blood glucose concentration. [[Parasympathetic nervous system|Parasympathetic]] stimulation of the pancreatic islets operates via this pathway to increase insulin secretion into the blood. * The significantly increased amount of calcium ions in the cells' cytoplasm causes the release into the blood of previously synthesized insulin, which has been stored in intracellular [[secretion|secretory]] [[vesicle (biology)|vesicles]].