Glucagon: its significance in health and disease.

Glucagon, the fraction responsible for the hyperglycaemia, was isolated by Collens and Murlin in 1929. However, it was not until the 1950's, following the introduction of new electrophoretic and chromatographic techniques that glucagon was obtained in sufficiently pure form to allow chemical characterization (Staub, Sinn and Behrens, 1953). Porcine glucagon was shown to be a single chain polypeptide of 29 amino acids with molecular weight 3485 (Bromer, Sinn and Behrens, 1957). Subsequently immunofluorescent techniques revealed that the alpha cells of the pancreatic islets were its source (Baum, Simons, Unger and Madison, 1962).