Horm Metab Res 1997; 29(2): 56-59
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-978985
Originals Basic

© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Tissue-Specific and Glucose-Dependent Expression of Receptor Genes for Glucagon and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1)

E. Yamato, H. Ikegami, K. Takekawa, T. Fujisawa, Y. Nakagawa, Y. Hamada, H. Uedo, T. Ogihara
  • Department of Geriatric Medicine, Osaka University Medical School, Suita, Osaka, Japan
Further Information

Publication History

1996

1996

Publication Date:
23 April 2007 (online)

Both glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) play an important role in the regulation of nutrient homeostasis. In this study, the tissue distributions of the expression of receptor genes for glucagon and GLP-1 were examined. Expression of glucagon receptor gene was detected in liver, kidney, ileum and pancreatic islets but not in brain. In contrast, expression of GLP-1 receptor gene was detected in brain, pancreas and pancreatic islets but not in liver, kidney, or ileum. To investigate the existence and characteristics of glucagon and GLP-1 receptors on pancreatic β cells, expression of the receptor genes and translational regulation of the expression of the receptor genes by glucose were analyzed in a mouse pancreatic β cell line, MIN6 cells. In the cDNA pool of MIN6 cells, both glucagon and GLP-1 receptor genes were identified and showed higher expression level in MIN6 cells cultured under high glucose condition than in those cultured under low glucose condition. These results suggest that glucagon and GLP-1 receptor genes are expressed in pancreatic β cells and their expression is upregulated by glucose.

    >