Glicentin 1–61 probably represents a major fraction of glucagon-related peptides in plasma of anaesthetized uraemic pigs

Uraemia was induced in pigs by ligation of the renal vascular pedicle, and uraemic plasma was analysed for glucagon and glucagon-related peptides. A preponderance of large molecular weight (Mr) components comprising glicentin and moieties of slightly lower Mr was found, accounting for 73 ± 3% (mean ± SEM, n =12) of the total plasma glucagon-like immunoreactivity. Comparisons with glicentin 1–61, produced by controlled, stepwise, consecutive digestion of purified natural glicentin with carboxypeptidases (carboxypeptidase A followed by carboxypeptidase B, and again by carboxypeptidase A and B), gel filtration, ion exchange chromatography, reverse phase HPLC and radioimmunoassays for the glucagon sequences 6–15 and 19–29 and for the glicentin sequence 12–30 all indicate that glicentin 1–61 constitutes approximately 57% of the large Mr glucagon-related peptides found in uraemia in pigs.