Bernadetta Jakubowska, Dorota Bartusik-Aebisher and David Aebisher
Medical College of The University of Rzeszów, Poland

Part of the book: The Biochemical Guide to Hormones

Abstract

Glucagon plays a very important role, primarily in the control of blood glucose, thus acting in the opposite way to insulin. Only the proper functioning of both hormones is able to ensure and maintain proper and proper homeostasis of the organism’s economy, e.g., related to energy expenditure. Glucagon, produced in the alpha cells of the endocrine pancreas, is a key component involved in thermoregulation. Today, interest in glucagon continues to grow. The last fifty years of research conducted by scientists around the world have allowed us to understand both the way glucagon works and its influence and interaction with other hormones in the body. The current research also focuses on the relationship of glucagon with the states of hyperglycemia in diabetes and the anatomical site of glucagon’s action with increased energy expenditure.

Keywords: glucagon, insulin, brown adipose tissue (BAT), antidiabetic drugs, gluconeogenesis

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