C Peptide Laboratory research

General Information

C-peptide Is a stable fragment of endogenously produced proinsulin that is "cleaved" from it during insulin production. It consists of 31 amino acid residues, is located between the alpha and beta chains of proinsulin and is biologically inactive. Once the insulin molecule is synthesized in the pancreatic beta cells, the C-peptide is released into the bloodstream along with insulin. Insulin is inactive before the C-peptide is removed, which allows the pancreas to store insulin as a prohormone. It should be noted that although the number of C-peptide and insulin molecules produced during secretion is the same, the equilibrium concentration of C-peptide in the blood is approximately 5 times the molar concentration of insulin, which is related to the different rate of their elimination from the blood.