We have found [125I]glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1(7-36)amide specific binding activity in rat liver and isolated hepatocyte plasma membranes, with an M(r) of approximately 63,000, estimated by cross-linking and SDS-PAGE. The specific binding was time- and membrane protein concentration-dependent, and equally displaced by unlabelled GLP-1(7-36)amide and by GLP-1(1-36)amide, achieving its ID50 at 3 x 10(-9) M of the peptides. GLP-1(7-36)amide did not modify the basal or the glucagon (10(-8) M)-stimulated adenylate cyclase in the hepatocyte plasma membranes. These data, together with our previous findings of a potent glycogenic effect of GLP-1(7-36)amide in isolated rat hepatocytes, led us to postulate that the insulin-like effects of this peptide on glucose liver metabolism could be mediated by a type of receptor probably different from that described for GLP-1 in pancreatic B-cells or, alternatively, by the same receptor which, in this tissue as well as in muscle, uses a different transduction system.

No abstract

Specific binding of [125I]glucagon-like peptide-1(7-36)amide ([125I]GLP-1(7-36)amide) to solubilized rat adipose tissue membranes was found to be dependent on temperature, time, and membrane protein concentration and readily dissociated. GLP-1(1-36)amide, GLP-2, or glucagon (10(-6) M) did not compete with [125I]GLP-1(7-36)amide binding. Half-maximal binding was achieved with 8 x 10(-10) M unlabeled GLP-1(7-36)amide, and the Scatchard plot revealed the presence of high and low affinity binding sites with Kd values of approximately 0.6 and 20 nM, respectively. The binding capacity of [125I]GLP-1(7-36)amide was about 3 times higher than that of [125I]glucagon, while the high affinity Kd and the half-maximal binding of the two peptides were similar. The presence and abundance of GLP-1(7-36)amide receptors in fat tissue together with the previous findings that the peptide stimulates glycerol and cAMP production in rat adipocytes and stimulates fatty acid synthesis in explants of rat adipose tissue open the possibility that this insulinotropic intestinal peptide may also be involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism in health and disease.

Insulin-like effects of glucagon-like peptide-1(7-36)amide (GLP-1) in rat liver, skeletal muscle and fat, and also the presence of GLP-1 receptors in these extrapancreatic tissues, have been documented. In skeletal muscle and liver, the action of GLP-1 is not associated with an activation of adenylate cyclase, and in cultured murine myocytes and hepatoma cell lines, it was found that GLP-1 provokes the generation of inositolphosphoglycan molecules (IPGs), which are considered second messengers of insulin action. In the present work, we document in isolated normal rat adipocytes and hepatocytes that GLP-1 exerts a rapid decrease of the radiolabelled glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs)--precursors of IPGs--in the same manner as insulin, indicating their hydrolysis and the immediate short-lived generation of IPGs. Thus, IPGs could be mediators in the GLP-1 actions in adipose tissue and liver, as well as in skeletal muscle, through GLP-1 receptors which are, at least functionally, different from that of the pancreatic B-cell.

A potent glycogenic effect for GLP-1(7-36)amide has been found in rat hepatocytes and skeletal muscle, and the specific receptors detected for GLP-1(7-36)amide in these tissue membranes do not seem to be associated to adenylate cyclase. On the other hand, inositolphosphoglycan molecules (IPGs) have been implicated as second messengers in the action of insulin. In a human hepatoma cell line (HEP G-2), we have observed the presence of [125I]GLP-1(7-36)amide specific binding, and a stimulatory effect of the peptide upon glycogen synthesis, confirming the findings in isolated rat hepatocytes. Also, GLP-1(7-36)amide modulates the cell content of radiolabelled glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs), in the same manner as insulin, indicating hydrolysis of GPIs and an immediate and short-lived generation of IPGs. Thus, IPGs could be mediators in the GLP-1(7-36)amide glycogenic action in the liver.