Glucagon-early breakthroughs and recent discoveries.
Glucagon was discovered in 1922 as a hyperglycemic factor in the pancreas. During its early history up to 1970, glucagon was shown to increase circulating glucose through stimulating glycogenolysis in the liver. It was also shown to be a constituent of islet non-ß cells and to signal through G protein coupled receptors and cyclic AMP. Furthermore, its chemical characteristics, including amino acid