Preface.

Abstract

This supplemental issue of the Journal of Diabetes Investigation highlights some of the work that was presented at INCRETIN 2015, a symposium celebrating the 45th anniversary of the discovery of GIP that was held July 2015 in Vancouver BC Canada. Professor Yutaka Seino proposed the wonderful idea of this conference to me several years ago and was instrumental in mobilizing tremendous support to ensure the meeting was a success. Joining us on the organizing committee were Drs. Daniel Drucker, Patricia Brubaker, Michael Wheeler, Bruce Verchere, Christopher McIntosh, Daisuke Yabe, Yuichiro Yamada and Nobuya Inagaki. I am very appreciative of the considerable efforts of this group. We decided to hold the conference at the University of British Columbia where GIP was discovered by Professors John Brown and Raymond Pederson. Accommodations were on campus with scientific proceedings in the Life Sciences Institute. While the emphasis was on GIP, all aspects of incretin biology and therapy were welcomed in the agenda, and as reflected in the contents of this supplement. Approximately 100 individuals attended, coming from 13 different countries. Drs. Raymond Pederson and Christopher McIntosh opened the conference at our welcome banquet with a memorable overview of the discovery of GIP and its subsequent fate, with Professor John Brown, his wife Anne and his daughter Stephanie in attendance. Over a 2 day period there were ~30 poster presentations and ~35 oral presentations, including: “GIP – The Cardiovascular Frontier” (Dr. Daniel Drucker), “Searching for the Physiological Role of GIP” (Dr. Jens Holst), “Efficacy and Safety of Incretin-Based Therapies in Asian Clinical Use” (Dr. Daisuke Yabe), “Mechanisms Underlying GIP and GLP-1 Secretion” (Dr. Frank Reimann), “The Mechanisms of Fat-Induced GIP Secretion from K-cells” (Dr. Nobuya Inagaki), “Mixed-Incretin Receptor Biochemical Signaling at GLP, GIP and GCG-Receptors” (Dr. Richard DiMarchi), “Is GLP-1 a Hormone: Whether and When?” (Dr. David D'Alessio), “Circadian Regulation of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Secretion” (Dr. Patricia Brubaker), “Novel Extra-Pancreatic Effects of Incretin” (Dr. Yuichiro Yamada), “Glutamate as a Critical Cell Signal for Incretin-Induced Insulin Secretion” (Dr. Susumu Seino), “Neuromedin U is a Mammalian Decretin and Anti-Incretin” (Dr. Seung Kim), and “Physiological Function of GIP and Clinical Implications” (Dr. Yutaka Seino). The quality of all presentations was outstanding, generating many provocative questions and considerable discussion. It certainly is remarkable to see how far the field has come from Dr. Brown's discovery of the first incretin GIP, to the detailed knowledge of how incretin hormones work and the development of several effective incretin-based therapies for diabetes. Aside from the science sessions, attendees were treated to a fireworks display, a dinner cruise around the inner harbor and Stanley Park, an outdoor salmon barbeque, and a night in the Museum of Anthropology. By all accounts the meeting was a success. I wish to personally thank the numerous volunteers who spent many hours assisting me with various aspects of the conference planning and execution, particularly Dr. Maria Glavas and Sonia Serrambana. I would also like to extend my gratitude to our generous sponsors, including the Japan Association for Diabetes Education and Care (JADEC), AstraZeneca, Merck, Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Canadian Diabetes Association, and the University of British Columbia, without which, this conference would not have been possible. I sincerely hope you enjoy the contents of this supplemental issue and please consider joining us the next time an INCRETIN conference is organized. Sincerely, The author declares no conflict of interest.