Glucose homeostasis is regulated by a variety of hormones including glucagon. Glucagon is synthesized as the precursor molecule proglucagon and is proteolytically processed to yield the mature peptide in α cells of the pancreatic islets. The gene encoding GLP1 maps to human chromosome 19, which consists of over 63 million bases, houses approximately 1,400 genes and is recognized for having the greatest gene density of the human chromosomes. Glucagon causes the release of glucose from glycogen and stimulates gluconeogenesis in the liver.
