The islets of Langerhans are groups of specialized cells that are dispersed throughout the pancreas. They produce a number of hormones including glucagon, insulin, Pancreatic polypeptide and somatostatin. Insulin is the most critical of these, as it helps regulate glucose metabolism. Insulin is synthesized from a precursor molecule, proinsulin, in the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans. The conversion of proinsulin into the active hormone, insulin, is accomplished by proteolytic enzymes known as prohormone convertases (PC1 and PC2) as well as the exoprotease carboxypeptidase E. These proteolytic enzymes remove the center portion of the molecule, or C-peptide, and the remaining peptide chains (A and B) are cross-linked by disulfide bonds. The crosslinked peptides are the insulin monomer. As the concentration of the protein increases, the monomers assemble into dimers and in the presence of zinc, into hexameric crystals characterized by two Zn2+ atoms per hexameric unit. It is this 2-Zn insulin hexamer that represents the active conformation of the secreted hormone. Given its prominent role in the synthesis, storage and secretion of insulin, it is not surprising that zinc is highly expressed in pancreatic beta cells.