Abstract
Uncontrolled hepatic glucose output (HGO) contributes significantly to the pathological hyperglycemic state of patients with type 2 diabetes. Glucagon, through action on its receptor, stimulates HGO, thereby leading to increased glycemia. Antagonizing the glucagon signaling pathway represents an attractive therapeutic approach for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We previously reported the generation and characterization of several high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting the glucagon receptor (GCGR). In the present study, we demonstrate that a 5-week treatment of diet-induced obese mice with mAb effectively normalized nonfasting blood glucose. Similar treatment also reduced fasting blood glucose without inducing hypoglycemia or other undesirable metabolic perturbations. In addition, no hypoglycemia was found in db/db mice that were treated with a combination of insulin and mAb. Long-term treatment with the mAb caused dose-dependent hyperglucagonemia and minimal to mild α-cell hyperplasia in lean mice. There was no evidence of pancreatic α-cell neoplastic transformation in mice treated with mAb for as long as 18 weeks. Treatment-induced hyperglucagonemia and α-cell hyperplasia were reversible after treatment withdrawal for periods of 4 and 10 weeks, respectively. It is noteworthy that pancreatic β-cell function was preserved, as demonstrated by improved glucose tolerance throughout the 18-week treatment period. Our studies further support the concept that long-term inhibition of GCGR signaling by a mAb could be an effective approach for controlling diabetic hyperglycemia.
Footnotes
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Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at http://jpet.aspetjournals.org.
doi:10.1124/jpet.109.157685
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ABBREVIATIONS:
- GCGR
- glucagon receptor
- PEPCK
- phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase
- F1,6BPase
- fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase
- G6Pase
- glucose-6-phosphatase
- GP
- glycogen phosphorylase
- HGO
- hepatic glucose output
- ASOs
- antisense oligonucleotides
- KO
- knockout
- mAb
- monoclonal antibody
- GLP-1
- glucagon-like peptide-1
- DIO
- diet-induced obese
- Q3D
- every 3 days
- Q5D
- every 5 days
- NEFA
- nonesterified fatty acids
- ANOVA
- analysis of variance
- SREBP-1c
- sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c.
- Received June 12, 2009.
- Accepted August 28, 2009.
- © 2009 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
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