Erschienen in:
26.04.2016 | Commentary
An overview of glucagon research
verfasst von:
Isabel Valverde
Erschienen in:
Diabetologia
|
Ausgabe 7/2016
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Excerpt
Glucagon was discovered in 1923 [
1] as a hyperglycaemic factor in insulin extracts from the pancreas. Although it was soon shown to increase circulating glucose by stimulating glycogenolysis in the liver [
2], it was not recognised as a hormone for almost four decades. The development of a radioimmunoassay in 1959 [
3] made it possible to elucidate the role of glucagon in normal physiological and pathological situations. At the end of the 1960s, intestinal peptides were detected that cross-reacted with some glucagon antibodies (glucagon-like immunoreactivity, GLI); in normal conditions, circulating GLI increases after an oral glucose load whereas pancreatic glucagon is suppressed [
4]. After 10 years, these GLI peptides were characterised as glicentin and oxyntomodulin, both being regulators of gastric acid and hydromineral intestinal secretions; in addition, oxyntomodulin is involved in the control of food intake and energy expenditure [
5]. …
