Methods and Guidelines for Measurement of Glucagon in Plasma

TY - JOUR

T1 - Methods and Guidelines for Measurement of Glucagon in Plasma

AU - Holst, Jens J.

AU - Albrechtsen, Nicolai J. Wewer

PY - 2019/11/1

Y1 - 2019/11/1

N2 - Glucagon circulates in concentrations in the low picomolar range, which is demanding regarding the sensitivity of the methods for quantification applied. In addition, the differential and tissue specific proteolytic processing of the glucagon precursor and the presence in of several glucagon-like sequences, not only in the precursor of glucagon, but also in a number of other peptides of the glucagon-secretin family of peptides, put special demands on the specificity of the assays. Finally, experience has shown that unspecific interference of plasma components has presented additional problems. All of these problems have resulted in a lot of diverging results concerning measured and reported glucagon responses in both humans and experimental animals that have and still are causing considerable debate and controversy. There is very solid evidence that glucagon is an important hormone in human and mammalian metabolism, but its precise physiological role in glucose and lipid metabolism and in metabolic disease has been difficult to establish, not least because of these difficulties. It was our purpose with this review to discuss the methods of glucagon quantification and discuss pitfalls and sources of error. We also reviewed some of the dogmas regarding glucagon secretion in the light of the methodological difficulties

AB - Glucagon circulates in concentrations in the low picomolar range, which is demanding regarding the sensitivity of the methods for quantification applied. In addition, the differential and tissue specific proteolytic processing of the glucagon precursor and the presence in of several glucagon-like sequences, not only in the precursor of glucagon, but also in a number of other peptides of the glucagon-secretin family of peptides, put special demands on the specificity of the assays. Finally, experience has shown that unspecific interference of plasma components has presented additional problems. All of these problems have resulted in a lot of diverging results concerning measured and reported glucagon responses in both humans and experimental animals that have and still are causing considerable debate and controversy. There is very solid evidence that glucagon is an important hormone in human and mammalian metabolism, but its precise physiological role in glucose and lipid metabolism and in metabolic disease has been difficult to establish, not least because of these difficulties. It was our purpose with this review to discuss the methods of glucagon quantification and discuss pitfalls and sources of error. We also reviewed some of the dogmas regarding glucagon secretion in the light of the methodological difficulties

KW - alpha cell

KW - amino acids

KW - diabetes

KW - glucose

KW - hyperglucagonemia

U2 - 10.3390/ijms20215416

DO - 10.3390/ijms20215416

M3 - Review

C2 - 31671667

SN - 1661-6596

VL - 20

JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online)

JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online)

M1 - 5416

ER -