Homeostasis is a critical component of the human body. Research specific examples of changes that can trigger a feedback loop in homeostasis. Maintaining Balance- How Feedback Loops Regulate Homeostasis in the Human Body Maintaining Balance- How Feedback Loops Regulate Homeostasis in the Human Body Write about one specific example, explaining what type of feedback loop it is, its process, and how it relates to homeostasis.

Maintaining Balance- How Feedback Loops Regulate Homeostasis in the Human Body

All human body processes are significant and essential to establish health in individuals. Therefore, a healthy state involves processes involving feedback loops to maintain a balance that results in an ailing state when altered. This balance is defined as homeostasis, which is the ability of the body to achieve balance in its internal environment (Peate & Nair, 2017). Mechanisms are in place to monitor and yield responses to detected stimuli. This response yields a feedback loop that restores the body’s internal environment in response to the stimuli. Accordingly, the mechanisms influencing homeostasis resulting in feedback loops include stimulus, sensor, control centre, and effectors (Peate & Nair, 2017).

Several changes trigger homeostasis feedback loops, such as increased or decreased body temperature, child delivery, decreased or increased blood glucose, and bleeding. There are two types of feedback loops: positive and negative. The positive feedback loops occur in an unstable environment where a stimulus-response is intensified until a given endpoint. One example of a positive feedback loop is blood clotting. In contrast, negative feedback loops occur in stable environments whereby a response to a stimulus is regulated to a given setpoint or a response results in an opposite reaction. Examples of negative feedback loops include temperature regulation and blood glucose control.

An excellent feedback loop example is the blood clotting process. Blood clotting or coagulation involves various processes. Procoagulant and anticoagulant regulators are released during blood clotting to control coagulation and blood vessel wall integrity (Isermann, 2017). When blood oozes out of a wound, various blood components are released, including coagulation factors and proteases, in response to that stimulus. The purpose of coagulation is to yield a hardened gelatinous matter from the oozing blood. The formation of the hardened gelatinous matter must be regulated using procoagulant and anticoagulant regulators to control the coagulation factors, thereby maintaining the fluidity of the oozing blood (Isermann, 2017). As a result, the coagulation and response to the damaged blood vessel wall will be in a state of balance.

Accordingly, coagulation involves a loop of various stages. First, in response to the stimulus, blood components, platelets, are activated through the development of a bleeding wound. Second, the wounding is followed by platelet adherence to the walls around the wound and the release of coagulation factors, a cellular response (Isermann, 2017). The third is the molecular response through the activity of proteases to form the clot and regulate and end the clotting process. Subsequently, these stages in coagulation influence each other with the wounding, causing the cellular response, which involves various blood components. The cellular response influences the molecular response due to the release of certain blood components during the cellular response; coagulation factors. During the molecular response, coagulation proteases released activate protease-activated receptors (PARs). In turn, the continuous activation of proteases results in the continuous activation of fibrin (Isermann, 2017). This continuous activation of fibrin results in the formation of a clot from a large amount of fibrin activated.

Consistently, the blood clotting process is a positive feedback loop. A response amplifies itself in a positive feedback loop until an endpoint is reached. During blood clotting, the response involves coagulation in response to the stimulus of being wounded and bleeding, resulting in an endpoint of a clot formation. Therefore, this process is a significant positive feedback loop in homeostasis. The result of blood clotting is the cessation of bleeding, restoring the internal environment to balance. In the absence or inhibition of coagulation regulators, clotting can continue, resulting in pulmonary embolism, heart attack, or stroke. In this regard, remedies such as anti-clotting agents, commonly known as blood thinners, are administered to restore homeostasis by preventing clot formation.

References

Isermann, B. (2017). Homeostatic effects of coagulation protease‐dependent signalling and protease-activated receptors. Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 15(7), 1273-1284. https://doi.org/10.1111/jth.13721