Glucagon Precursor Research Articles

Plasma glucagon-immunoreactive components in early life in dogs.

High plasma concentrations of C-terminal immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) have been found during early life in several mammalian species. We have analyzed the plasma IRG of 12 h to 60 day-old dogs in terms of the 4 peaks (IRG greater than 20,000, IRG9000, IRG3500 and IRG2000) obtained by gel filtration on Bio-Gel P-30. Significant changes with age and in response to administered agents were confined to IRG9000 and IRG3500. IRG9000 was 9-fold higher in 12-36 h old dogs than in adults (108 +/- 24 pg/ml pancreatic glucagon equivalents v. 12 +/- 3 pg/ml, mean +/- SEM) and showed a decline to 2-fold higher (27 +/- 5 pg/ml) at 31-60 days. IRG3500 was higher than in the adult only during the first 36 h of life (36 +/- 5 pg/ml v. 15 +/- 3 pg/ml). Arginine infusion (0.5 g/kg over 15 min) caused an increase in plasma levels of both IRG9000 and IRG3500 in the newborn, whereas in adult dogs only IRG3500 was increased. Insulin injection (0.2 U/kg intravenously) causing a marked hypoglycemia had no significant effect on the plasma level of any IRG component in newborn dogs. Dihydrosomatostatin infusion (10 micrograms/kg bolus +/- 90 micrograms/kg over 30 min) caused a decrease in both IRG9000 and IRG3500. The increased basal level and secretory response to arginine of IRG9000 in newborn dogs may reflect an immaturity of the A cells, whereby more of this component, which may represent a precursor of pancreatic glucagon, is secreted than in the adult. The immature A cells also appear to have an impaired secretory response to hypoglycemia.

Glucagon gene sequence. Four of six exons encode separate functional domains of rat pre-proglucagon.

Glucagon, a peptide of 29 amino acids that is produced and secreted by the pancreas, is a regulator of carbohydrate and protein metabolism. Recently, we determined the nucleotide sequence of a mRNA of 1300 nucleotides that encodes rat pre-proglucagon, a polyprotein precursor of glucagon. The polyprotein contains the sequences of glucagon and two glucagon-like peptides arranged in tandem and separated by intervening peptides. Now we report the structure of the gene encoding rat pre-proglucagon. The unique transcriptional unit of the gene spans 10 kilobase pairs and consists of six exons and five introns. Four of the six exons encode distinct functional domains of the pre-proglucagon. The signal sequence, glucagon, and two glucagon-like sequences arranged in tandem are each encoded by a separate exon. A promoter sequence TA-TAAA is located 26 base pairs upstream from the mRNA cap site, and two polyadenylation signals AA-TAAA are present in the 3' untranslated region of the encoded mRNA. The 3' flanking region of the gene contains repetitive sequence DNA.

Conversion of proglucagon in pancreatic alpha cells: the major endproducts are glucagon and a single peptide, the major proglucagon fragment, that contains two glucagon-like sequences.

It has previously been shown by biosynthetic labeling studies that glucagon is synthesized in mammalian islets via an 18-kDa precursor, proglucagon, that during processing gives rise to glucagon and a secreted peptide of 10 kDa (the major proglucagon fragment, MPGF). We have now developed a simple procedure for the isolation of this peptide from rat pancreatic islets and have characterized it more fully. On the basis of its amino acid composition, MPGF is identified as the COOH-terminal portion of proglucagon that contains two glucagon-related sequences. These sequences do not appear to be liberated from MPGF in alpha cells of the islets of Langerhans but MPGF may be processed further elsewhere in the body or in other cells of the gastrointestinal tract that produce glucagon precursors.

Immunocytochemical characterization of secretory granule maturation in pancreatic A-cells.

Antigenic sites related to glucagon and glucagon precursors were characterized by ultrastructural immunocytochemistry in secretory compartments of the pancreatic A-cell, namely Golgi cisternae, condensing granules in Golgi cisternae, coated immature secretory granules, and noncoated mature secretory granules. The C-terminal glucagon immunoreactivity was low in all these compartments except in the noncoated mature secretory granules. By contrast, N-terminal glucagon and glicentin immunoreactivities were high at the condensing granule stage and, respectively, increased (N-terminal) or decreased (glicentin) until the mature secretory granule stage. These data suggest that: 1) glucagon precursors and glucagon coexist at different concentrations in secretory compartments of the A-cell; 2) the condensing granules in Golgi cisternae and immature granules consist predominantly of glucagon precursors; and 3) the removal of the peptide masking the C-terminal of the glucagon molecule occurs between the coated and the mature granule stages.

Immunocytochemical localization of glucagonlike and gastric inhibitory polypeptidelike peptides in the pancreatic islets and gastrointestinal tract.

The distribution of cells displaying glucagonlike or gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP)-like immunoreactivity was examined in the pancreatic islets and gastrointestinal tracts of rats, dogs, and humans. A-cells in the pancreatic islets in all three species were stained by antisera having regional specificity for pancreatic-type glucagon, gut-type glucagon (glicentin), or GIP. Oxyntic A-cells of the gastric mucosa in dogs and humans also were stained comparably by these three antisera. In contrast, the K- and L-cells in the intestinal mucosa of those species were stained only by antisera capable of reacting with GIP or gut-type glucagon, respectively. Tests of antibody specificity showed that the GIP antiserum did not cross-react with either pancreatic- or gut-type glucagon. Likewise, the glucagon antisera showed no cross-reactivity with GIP. Hence, these findings suggest that pancreatic and gastric A-cells contain a peptide with GIP-like immunoreactivity distinct from glucagon or glicentin per se. Although the exact basis of th GIP-like immunostaining of A-cells is unknown, it may be due to the presence of a glucagon precursor sharing certain amino-acid sequences with GIP. This hypothesis is consistent with several recent investigations showing that the processing of proglucagon molecules differs between the A- and L-cells.

Gastric inhibitory peptide-like immunoreactivity in glucagon and glicentin cells: properties and origin. An immunocytochemical study using several antisera.

Although gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP) has never been detected outside the upper small intestine by immunochemical methods, GIP-like immunoreactivity has been demonstrated by immunocytochemistry in the glucagon/glicentin cells of pancreas, and gut. In the present study several GIP antisera (five polyclonal and one monoclonal) were tested on specimens from pancreas and intestines of several mammalian species, including man. Two of the polyclonal antisera and the monoclonal one stained cells in the upper small intestine only, while the other three also stained cells in the pancreas, ileum, and colon. Monoclonal anti-GIP did not stain GIP cells in man. The immunostaining produced could not be abolished by pretreatment of the antisera with glucagon or glicentin in excess, whereas small amounts of synthetic or natural porcine GIP prevented the immunostaining. Thus, three of the antisera are specific for GIP, while the other three recognize not only GIP but also GIP-like peptides. The results suggest that the glucagon/glicentin cells contain peptides distinct from GIP but sharing an immunodeterminant with GIP. The GIP-like immunoreactivity in the glucagon cells of the rat pancreas was not altered by infusion of GIP or by elimination of the bulk of endogenous GIP by resection of the upper small intestine, indicating that the GIP-like peptide is produced in the glucagon cells rather than accumulated from the circulation. The nature of this GIP-like peptide is unknown. Conceivably, it represents the cryptic portion of the glucagon precursor molecule. In some species a proportion of the GIP cells in the proximal small intestine displayed glicentin-like immunoreactivity as well, emphasizing the relationship between GIP cells on the one hand and glucagon/glicentin cells on the other.

Ontogeny of immunoreactive glicentin in the human gastrointestinal tract and endocrine pancreas.

The gestational time of appearance and distribution of immunoreactive glicentin was compared to that of immunoreactive glucagon in the gastrointestinal tract and endocrine pancreas of human fetuses, aged between 5 and 24 weeks, by an indirect immunoperoxidase method. With the glicentin antiserum No. R 64, the first immunoreactive cells were detected at the 10th week of gestation in the oxyntic mucosa and proximal small intestine, at the 8th week in the ileum and at the 12th week in the colon. In the endocrine pancreas, the first immunoreactive cells were observed as early as 8 weeks within the walls of the primitive pancreatic ductules. At a more advanced stage of development (12 weeks), they were found interspersed among the islet cell clusters and still later (16 weeks) inside the recognizable islets of Langerhans. With the glucagon antiserum No. GB 5667, no immunoreactive cells were demonstrated in the gastrointestinal tract whatever the age of the fetuses. In the endocrine pancreas, the first immunoreactive cells were observed at the 8th week of gestation in the pancreatic parenchyma. The distribution of glucagon-containing cells in the pancreas was similar to that of glicentin immunoreactivity throughout ontogenesis. In the pancreatic islets of one 18-week-old human fetus, the study of consecutive semithin sections treated by both antisera showed that the same cells were labelled. The significance of these findings concerning the role of glicentin as a glucagon precursor is discussed.

Glicentin precedes glucagon in the developing human pancreas.

A quantitative evaluation of immunofluorescence elicited by anti-insulin, anti-glucagon, anti-glicentin, anti-somatostatin and anti-pancreatic polypeptide antisera has been carried out in the pancreas of 5 human fetuses from 3.0 to 9.6 cm C.R. The data obtained indicate that while insulin and somatostatin-containing cells are approximately in similar proportions with respect to the other endocrine cell types in the five fetuses studied, the glucagon and glicentin immunoreactive cells and the pancreatic polypeptide cells are not : a) pancreatic polypeptide-containing cells increase in proportion as fetuses grow older; b) the youngest fetuses (3.0 to 4.3 cm C.R.) contain a high proportion of cells reacting to anti-glicentin antiserum only (GLI-cells) and a small proportion of cells stained both with the anti-glicentin and anti-glucagon antisera (GLI/GLU-cells). However, the latter cell type which stains similarly as the postnatal and adult pancreatic A-cell (GLI-cells are not detectable in the postnatal and adult pancreas) increases iin proportion in older fetuses, while the proportion of GLI-cells decrease. The data suggest that the definitive adult-type A-cell matures from a GLI-cell type which is not able to convert glucagon precursors GLI(s) into glucagon.

Pancreatic preproglucagon cDNA contains two glucagon-related coding sequences arranged in tandem.

We have constructed and cloned in bacteria recombinant plasmids containing DNA complementary to the mRNA encoding a pancreatic preproglucagon (Mr 14,500), a product of cell-free translation of angler fish islet mRNAs shown previously by immunoprecipitation analyses to be a precursor of glucagon. cDNAs of 630, 180, and 120 base pairs were isolated and correspond to most of the mRNA for the preproglucagon (650 bases). The cDNAs contain a protein coding sequence of 372 nucleotides and 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions of 58 and 206 nucleotides, respectively. From the coding sequence of the cDNAs, we find that the sequence of glucagon, identical to mammalian glucagon in 20 of 29 positions, resides in the preproglucagon of 124 amino acids flanked by NH2- and COOH-peptide extensions of 52 and 43 amino acids, respectively. The peptide extensions are linked to the glucagon by Lys-Arg sequences characteristic of the sites that are cleaved during the posttranslational processing of prohormones. Notable is the finding that, following the initial Lys-Arg sequence in the COOH-peptide extension is a pentapeptide. Ser-Gly-Val-Ala-Glu, followed by another Lys-Arg and a sequence of 34 residues that shows striking homology with glucagon and the other peptides of the glucagon family--gastric inhibitory peptide, vasoactive intestinal peptide, and secretin. Thus, the preproglucagon mRNA contains two glucagon-related coding sequences arranged in tandem. The finding of Lys-Arg sequences flanking the glucagon and glucagon-related sequences suggests that these two peptides and a pentapeptide are formed in vivo by posttranslational cleavages of a common precursor.

Pancreatic pre-proglucagons are encoded by two separate mRNAs.

Poly(A) RNA prepared from anglerfish islets programs the synthesis in a wheat germ cell-free system of two proteins of Mr = 14,500 and Mr = 12,500 that are both immunoprecipitated by an antiserum prepared to pancreatic glucagon of Mr = 3,500 (29 amino acids). We provide evidence by cDNA hybridizations and nucleotide sequence analyses that these two proteins are precursors of glucagon and that they are encoded by separate genes. Two cloned recombinant cDNAs prepared from the islet mRNAs individually hybrid-selected mRNAs that directed the cell-free synthesis of each of the two glucagon-related proteins. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the cDNA corresponding to the Mr = 14,500 protein revealed a coding sequence for a peptide of 29 amino acids flanked by Lys-Arg sequences typical of those found at the sites of post-translational cleavages of hormone precursors. Twenty of the 29 amino acids in the sequence are identical with those found in the sequence of mammalian pancreatic glucagon. The second of the two cDNAs completely hybrid-arrested the translation of the mRNA encoding the smaller glucagon precursor of Mr = 12,500 but had no effect on the translation of the mRNA encoding the Mr = 14,500 precursor. The cDNA corresponding to this Mr = 14,500 precursor hybridized to the DNA of bacterial colonies containing the cDNA for the Mr = 12,500 precursor. Thus, two separate but partially homologous mRNAs encode the two pre-proglucagons.

Intestinal glucagon mRNA identified by hybridization to a cloned islet cDNA encoding a precursor

Poly(A) RNA was prepared from the intestine of anglerfish and was translated in a wheat germ cell-free system supplemented with 35S-methionine. SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the labeled translation products revealed that the intestinal poly(A) RNA directs the synthesis of many proteins. Immunoprecipitations of the intestinal cell-free translation products with an antiserum to glucagon known to recognize anglerfish islet pre-proglucagon failed to identify an intestinal glucagon precursor. However, sensitive techniques of hybridization with a 32P-labelled cDNA containing the coding sequence for pancreatic glucagon identified a complementary RNA in the intestine. The mRNA of 620 bases is similar in size to the pre-proglucagon RNA in the islets (620–650 bases). These observations indicate that a gene encoding glucagon is expressed in the intestine, and that the mRNA encoding the intestinal glucagon precursor is of similar size to the pre-proglucagon mRNAs identified in the islets.

Cell-free synthesis and processing of multiple precursors to glucagon.

Glucagon, a polypeptide hormone of 29 amino acids, is synthesized in the islets of Langerhans and immunoreactive forms of the molecule have been found in several tissues. Like many other polypeptide hormones, glucagon is synthesized via a larger precursor molecular, proglucagon; however, estimates of its size vary considerably and the biosynthetic relationship between some of the putative precursors and authentic secreted glucagon is unclear. Consequently it was of interest to investigate the primary translation product of glucagon mRNA to relate its size to that of previously described glucagon precursors. Here we provide evidence for three distinct immunoreactive preproglucagon molecules, two of which have an apparent molecular weight (MW) of approximately 16,000 (16K). Furthermore, when microsomal membranes were present during translation, the nascent 14K preproglucagon polypeptides were processed to proglucagon with a higher apparent MW of 15,000. In contrast, the nascent 16K preproglucagon was co-translationally processed to a slightly smaller polypeptide. The data indicate that the 14K and 16K preproglucagons undergo different types of post-translational modification.

Glicentin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide immunoreactivity in endocrine cells of the gut and pancreas.

The distribution of the postulated glucagon precursor, glicentin, as well as of the gastrointestinal hormone GIP (gastric inhibitory polypeptide), has been studied by immunocytochemistry and radioimmunoassay. Our results show that GIP antisera may contain a population of antibodies recognizing an immunoreactant common to glicentin and GIP. The occurrence of such common immunoreactants makes immunological distinction between the two hormones difficult and may explain previous results indicating that GIP is stored by glucagon cells. The present results indicate that GIP is produced by endocrine cells of the duodenum and jejunem and is absent from the pancreas, stomach, and large intestine. Glicentin-like immunoreactivity is displayed by A cells of the pancreas and by oxyntic A cells of the stomach, as well as by numerous glucagon-like immunoreactant (GLI) cells of the ileum and colon. Use of glucagon ad glicentin antisera of differing specificities indicates that the processing of this putative prohormone differs between A cells and GLI cells. Studies on the ontogeny of pancreatic A cells also reveal differences in the reactivity pattern of glicentin-like immunoreactivity between fetal and adult rats. Ultraimmunocytochemical studies show that glicentin-like immunoreactivity is mainly, stored in the cytoplasmic granules of pancreatic A cells.

Glucagon Precursors Identified by Immunoprecipitation of Products of Cell-free Translation of Messenger RNA

Polyadenylated RNA extracted from anglerfish islets was translated in a wheat germ cell-free system containing [35S]methionine in the presence and absence of microsomal membranes prepared from a canine pancreas. Labeled translation products were analyzed by immunoprecipitation with an antiserum to porcine glucagon, followed by electrophoresis of the translation products and immunoprecipitated proteins on SDS polyacrylamide gels. In the absence of microsomal membranes two proteins of Mr = 14,500 and Mr = 12,500 were specifically immunoprecipitated with antiglucagon serum. Addition of microsomal membranes to the translation reactions resulted in a diminution of the labeled protein of Mr = 14,500 and a marked increase in the immunoreactive protein of Mr = 12,500. The protein of Mr = 12,500 was resistant to degradation by proteolytic enzymes added to translation reactions, indicating that it was segregated within microsomal vesicles. These results are consistent with synthesis of anglerfish islet glucagon in the form of a pre-prohormonal precursor (Mr = 14,500) containing a leader sequence that is cotranslationally cleaved from the protein by enzymes associated with microsomal membranes to produce a smaller intermediate prohormonal precursor (Mr = 12,500) of pancreatic glucagon (Mr = 3500).

Glucagon precursors identified by immunoprecipitation of products of cell-free translation of messenger RNA

Glucagon precursors identified by immunoprecipitation of products of cell-free translation of messenger RNA

Transformation of glicentin-containing L-cells into glucagon-containing cells by enzymatic digestion.

Exposure of sections of ileal mucosa to enzymatic digestion with trypsin and carboxypeptidase B reveals a population of immunofluorescent cells after incubation with a specific C-terminally directed antiglucagon serum. These cells, unreactive before enzyme treatment, were identified as L-cells by their immunoreactivity to antiglicentin serum and to cross-reacting (N-terminal) antiglucagon sera. The presence in the L-cells of antigenic sites characteristic of the glucagon-containing cells (A-cells) emphasizes the close relationships between these two cell types, and it further supports the hypothesis of glicentin as a glucagon precursor.

Nature and biologic activity of “extrapancreatic glucagon”: Studies in pancreatectomized cats

After total pancreatectomy concentrations of circulating immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) were elevated (255 ± 37 pg/ml, mean ± SEM; n = 20) in comparison to unoperated cats (119 ± 27 pg/ml). Plasma glucagon concentrations were determined in an assay regarded as specific for pancreatic glucagon. The nature of this extrapancreatic IRG was further examined in the following studies. Arginine (0.45 gm/kg i.v.) caused a marked elevation of IRG in normal animals but did not cause a consistent elevation of IRG in 6 pancreatectomized cats. Whereas somatostatin (20 μg/kg/hr i.v. for 1 hr) in 10 pancreatectomized cats caused a reduction in IRG from 195 ± 45 to 64 ± 22 pg/ml ( p < 0.02), blood glucose did not change. Moreover, insulin (0.22 U/kg/hr i.v. for 1 hr) failed to reduce blood glucose levels in 6 pancreatectomized cats despite a fall in IRG from 269 ± 87 to 150 ± 62 pg/ml ( p < 0.05). Glucagon (4 ng/kg/min i.v. for 1 hr) given during the second hour of somatostatin infusion failed to raise blood glucose in 7 untreated pancreatectomized cats. However, when euglycemia was achieved by prolonged insulin therapy in 2 pancreatectomized animals, extrapancreatic IRG became completely suppressed and a hyperglycemic response to exogenous glucagon was restored. Although extrapancreatic IRG appeared identical to pancreatic glucagon by immunoassay, Sephadex G50 chromatography of plasma from 4 pancreatectomized animals showed that 40%–90% of the IRG was of approximately 9000–10,000 molecular weight. Only 10%–60% was of molecular weight corresponding to pancreatic glucagon, i.e., 3500. This contrasted with normal cats, in whom more than 90% of IRG was of molecular weight 3500. The excessive secretion of extrapancreatic IRG is probably related to insulin deficiency since it is reversed by prolonged insulin therapy. The circulating material is heterogeneous and would correspond in molecular size to pancreatic glucagon and a larger molecular weight glucagon precursor. The lack of a consistent response to arginine and predominance of 9000–10,000 molecular weight material could be due to chronic hyperstimulation of true A cells situated in the upper gastrointestinal tract or other extrapancreatic sites; on the other hand, these results could suggest that the cell of origin of extrapancreatic IRG is distinct from the A cell. A major role for extrapancreatic glucagon in the hyperglycemia of diabetes is not evident in these studies, though hepatic glycogen depletion and a reduced rate of peripheral glucose utilization in the operated animals may have reduced the impact on blood glucose levels of changes in IRG. It is possible that extrapancreatic IRG contributes to the poor response to exogenous insulin and glucagon seen in untreated pancreatectomized animals.

Pathogenesis and characterization of hyperglucagonemia in the uremic rat.

The pathogenesis of hyperglucagonemia and of the alterations in the pattern of circulating immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) associated with renal insufficiency was studied in rats in which a comparable degree of uremia was induced by three different methods, i.e., bilateral nephrectomy, bilateral ureteral ligation, and urine autoinfusion. Nephrectomized and ureteral-ligated rats were markedly hyperglucagonemic (575 +/- 95 pg/ml and 492 +/- 54 pg/ml, respectively), while IRG levels of urine autoinfused animals (208 +/- 35 pg/ml) were similar to those of control rats (180 +/- 26 pg/ml), indicating that uremia per se does not account for the hyperglucagonemia observed in renal failure. Similarly, plasma IRG composition in this group of animals was indistinguishable from that of controls, in which 88.2 +/- 5.9% of total IRG consisted of the 3,500-mol wt fraction. The same component was almost entirely responsible (82.6 +/- 4.1%) for the hyperglucagonemia observed in ligated rats, while it accounted for only 57.6 +/- 5.0% of the circulating IRG in nephrectomized animals. In the latter group, 36.8 +/- 6.6% of total IRG had a mol wt of approximately 9,000, consistent with a glucagon precursor. This peak was present in samples obtained as early as 2 h after renal ablation and its concentration continued to increase with time reaching maximal levels at 24 h. These results confirm that the kidney is a major site of glucagon metabolism and provide evidence that the renal handling of the various circulating IRG components may involve different mechanisms. Thus, the metabolism of the 3,500-mol wt fraction is dependent upon glomerular filtration, while the uptake of the 9,000-mol wt material can proceed in its absence, as long as renal tissue remains adequately perfused. This finding suggests that the 9,000-mol wt component may be handled by peritubular uptake.

Heterogeneity of plasma glucagon immunoreactivity in normal, depancreatized, and alloxan-diabetic dogs

Filtration of basal plasma from normal, alloxan-diabetic, and depancreatized dogs on Bio Gel P-10 yielded four glucagon-immunoreactive fractions. One of them appeared in the true glucagon area with the glucagon- 125I (3500 mol wt). Of the other three, one appeared in the void volume (>20000 mol wt), another just before the insulin- 125I (⋍9000 mol wt), and the last one close to the salt peak (<2000 mol wt). The increase of total plasma glucagon immunoreactivity observed in depancreatized and alloxan diabetic dogs was mainly due to an increase in the 3500 and 9000 molecular-weight fractions. Arginine infusion in depancreatized dogs caused an increase in the 3500 molecular-weight fraction. Somatostatin or insulin infusion in depancreatized and alloxan-diabetic dogs resulted in disappearance of the 3500 molecular-weight fraction. In a hypoglycemic phloridzinized dog, the marked hyperglucagonemia observed was due to an increase in the 3500 and 9000 molecular-weight fractions; suppression by somatostatin infusion resulted in disappearance of the 3500 molecular-weight fraction and a marked reduction of the 9000 molecular-weight fraction. The high levels of 9000 molecular-weight fraction in the hyperglucagonemic dogs could represent increased entry of glucagon precursors into the circulation. Postpancreatectomy plasma glucagon does not seem to differ qualitatively from plasma glucagon secreted by the A cells in the intact animal, since the patterns of glucagon immunoreactivity in depancreatized dogs and in normal and alloxandiabetic dogs are similar.

Further Characterization of a Glucagon Precursor from Anglerfish Islet Tissue

Further Characterization of a Glucagon Precursor from Anglerfish Islet Tissue