[Molecular cloning and functional expression of glucagon receptors in the liver, the heart and various other tissues].

The mRNA for a glucagon receptor is present in five glucagon-responsive tissues of rat, including the liver, heart, pancreatic islets, kidneys and adipose tissue. The mature mRNA of this receptor is likely to derive from one gene only in all tissues investigated. The maturation of the pre-mRNA requires the splicing of 11 introns. This proceeds stepwise at the 5' end but a single intronless ORF is finally operative. The receptor is a glycoprotein endowed with 485 amino acids (including the signal peptide).