Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) is a 42-amino acid gastrointestinal regulatory peptide that stimulates insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells in the presence of glucose. Approximately 7.8 x 105 recombinant dones of a neonatal rat intestinal cDNA library were screened by using plaque hybridization, and three dones were identified and sequenced with the dideoxynucleotide chain-termination method. The translated amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA indicated that rat GIP was derived by proteolytic processing of a 144-amino acid precursor polypeptide. The mature peptide is flanked by a 43-amino acid NH2-terminal peptide that contains a 21-amino add signal peptide and by a 59-amino acid COOH-terminal peptide. Analysis of the nucleotide and amino acid sequence of rat GIP revealed only two substitutions from the known human GIP peptide. The use of high-stringency RNA blot-hybridization analysis of total RNA extracted from various organs demonstrated expression of the GIP gene in the duodenum and jejunum and, to a lesser extent, in the ileum. In addition, expression of the GIP gene was observed in the submandibular salivary gland both by RNA analysis and RIA. In response to duodenal perfusion of a 20% Lipomul meal for 60 min, duodenal mucosal GIP mRNA concentrations increased by 42.8% and 48.2% at 30 and 60 min, respectively.Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) was first isolated from porcine small intestine in 1969 and was originally named "gastric inhibitory peptide" on the basis of its ability to inhibit acid secretion in dogs (1). Its primary structure was initially described in 1971 (2) and revised in 1981 (3), and its amino acid sequence placed it in the secretin family of gastrointestinal regulatory peptides. GIP has been demonstrated in the cytoplasmic granules ofenteroendocrine K-cells in mucosa throughout the small intestine (4). After intestinal glucose perfusion, the primary site of endogenous GIP release appears to be the duodenum and proximal jejunum (5). Although several studies have supported the role of GIP as an inhibitor of acid secretion (6-10), some have challenged the notion that GIP inhibits acid output under physiological conditions (11,12). In addition to its inhibitory effects in the stomach, further investigation of the physiological properties of GIP demonstrated that in the presence of glucose, GIP enhanced insulin release by pancreatic beta islet cells when administered in physiological doses (13)(14)(15). It was, therefore, suggested that GIP may function as an "incretin," a proposed enteric factor that stimulates the release of pancreatic insulin and that may play a physiological role in maintaining glucose homeostasis (16,17). Accordingly, the hormone is now often referred to as "glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide," thereby maintaining the original acronym (18).Numerous past studies have characterized GIP release into the circulation; however, few have examined the biosynthesis of this peptide. The rat serves as...