Role of Glucagon in Diabetes

The glucagon-secreting A cell is a vital component of the organ system which regulates the distribution of fuel--the islets of Langerhans. Bihormonal control of glucoregulation through a push-pull system maintains the glucose concentration of extracellular fluid within narrow limits irrespective of glucose flux rates through relative equality of glucose influx and efflux. This equality requires appropriate secretion mixtures of the biologic antagonists, insulin and glucagon, directed by a glucose sensor. In severe diabetes, there are virtually no B cells and A cells are in contact largely with other A cells and their glucose-sensing capacity is lost. The A cell hypersecretes and in most juvenile type diabetics aggressive therapy with insulin fails to restore it to normal. Glucagon is a factor in the development of endogenous hyperglycemia, and ketoacidosis. Its suppression may provide a possible approach in the future pharmacologic management of diabetic hyperglycemia.