Immunologic properties and biological activity of chicken glucagon

A comparative study was made of chicken glucagon and cattle glucagon (commercial preparation) with a view towards investigating the evolution of polypeptide hormones in a number of vertebrates. A chromatographic method was proposed for obtaining a crystalline preparation of chicken glucagon. At the doses tested, in most cases the effect of chicken glucagon was less pronounced that the effect of the mammalian hormone. The data obtained are evidence that even one amino acid substitution, present in chicken glucagon in comparison with mammalian glucagon, affects both the immunologic properties of the hormone and its biological activity.