Abstract
Glucagon antisera were raised in rabbits immunised with glucagon linked to a synthetic
amino-acid copolymer. Antibodies concentrated from these sera by ammonium sulphate
precipitation or specifically purified using an immunoadsorbent of glucagon covalently
linked to cellulose, were injected into anaesthetised rats which had been starved
for 5 hours. The antibodies disappeared slowly from the serum. Neither the concentrated
nor the purified antibodies, however, produced a consistent effect on the levels of
blood glucose. In contrast both anti-insulin serum and insulin antibodies purified
by a similar technique as that used for the purification of glucagon antibodies, caused
a transitory hyperglycemia approximately proportional to the amount of antibody injected.
Insulin antibodies were rapidly neutralised in the serum. Possible explanations for
the failure of glucagon antibodies to induce hypoglycemia are discussed.
Key words
Glucagon Antibodies - Insulin Antibodies - Rat
1 During part of the work P.B. held a Scholarship for Training in Research Methods
from the Medical Research Council, and subsequently a Rank Fellowship. Present address:
Medical
Unit, Middlesex Hospital, London, W 1 (England)
