title: Insulinotropin: glucagon-like peptide I (7-37) co-encoded in the glucagon gene is a potent stimulator of insulin release in the perfused rat pancreas.
abstract: Insulin secretion is controlled by a complex set of factors that include not only glucose but amino acids, catecholamines, and intestinal hormones. We report that a novel glucagon-like peptide, co-encoded with glucagon in the glucagon gene is a potent insulinotropic factor. The glucagon gene encodes a proglucagon that contains in its sequence glucagon and additional glucagon-like peptides (GLPs). These GLPs are liberated from proglucagon in both the pancreas and intestines. GLP-I exists in at least two forms: 37 amino acids GLP-I(1-37), and 31 amino acids, GLP-I(7-37). We studied the effects of synthetic GLP-Is on insulin secretion in the isolated perfused rat pancreas. In the presence of 6.6 mM glucose, GLP-I(7-37) is a potent stimulator of insulin secretion at concentrations as low as 5 X 10(-11) M (3- to 10-fold increases over basal). GLP-I(1-37) had no effect on insulin secretion even at concentrations as high as 5 X 10(-7) M. The earlier demonstration of specific liberation of GLP-I(7-37) in the intestine and pancreas, and the magnitude of the insulinotropic effect at such low concentrations, suggest that GLP-I(7-37) participates in the physiological regulation of insulin secretion.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005796:Genes; D005934:Glucagon / Q000235:genetics; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1; D004763:Glucagon-Like Peptides; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D010455:Peptides; D004763:Glucagon-Like Peptides; C015236:glucagon-like-immunoreactivity; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1; D005934:Glucagon; C051322:glucagon-like peptide 1 (7-37)