Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40271226›Full record

ArticleJournal of the Endocrine Society2025

The Glucagon Receptor Is Expressed in the Frontal Cortex and Impaired Signaling Associates With Cognitive Decline.

Sasha A S Kjeldsen, Jonas Folke, Maud E Ottenheijm, Marie Winther-Sørensen, Jónvá Hentze, Pia Nyeng, Sara L Garcia, Agata Casado-Sainz, Sanne Simone Kaalund, Reidar Albrechtsen and 12 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the Endocrine Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Postprandial Glucagon Action in the Human Brain.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Sasha A S KjeldsenDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Jonas FolkeCentre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Maud E OttenheijmDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Marie Winther-SørensenDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Jónvá HentzeCentre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Pia NyengDepartment of Science and Environment, Roskilde University, Roskilde 4000, Denmark.
Sara L GarciaNovo Nordisk Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark.
Agata Casado-SainzCentre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Sanne Simone KaalundCentre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Reidar AlbrechtsenBiotech Research and Innovation Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark.
Karina BanasikNovo Nordisk Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2489-2499
Søren BrunakNovo Nordisk Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0316-5866
Nina L HansenDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Jens Juul HolstDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6853-3805
Mette M RosenkildeDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9600-3254
Jørgen RungbySteno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2730, Denmark.
Majken K JensenSection of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 1357, Denmark.
Birgitte GeorgDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Jens HannibalDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Tomasz BrudekCentre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Susana AznarCentre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.
Nicolai J Wewer AlbrechtsenDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen 2400, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4230-5753

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have an elevated risk of cognitive decline, yet the mechanisms connecting these pathologies remain unclear. Altered glucagon and insulin signaling contribute to T2D, and insulin resistance may also be associated with cognitive decline. The role of glucagon in this context is unknown. Here we aimed to characterize glucagon receptor (GCGR) expression in brain tissue and investigate the potential impact of altered GCGR signaling on dementia prevalence and cognitive function. We investigated GCGR protein expression in various human brain regions and cell types in postmortem brain samples. To explore the potential link between GCGR signaling and cognitive function, individuals with specific GCGR mutations with known or predicted impaired GCGR signaling were examined in connection to the prevalence of dementia defined by International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision coding and by cognitive function using population-scale cognitive tests in the UK Biobank. GCGR mRNA and protein were expressed specifically in neurons of the frontal cortex. Varying degrees of expression were observed across brain regions and with higher expression in the parietal cortex and thalamus by antibody-dependent analyses. GCGR variant carriers did not have a significantly higher prevalence of dementia, but 1 cognitive test was significantly impaired in individuals with a GCGR cAMP loss-of-function variant compared to sex- and age-matched nonvariant carrier controls. Our findings indicate GCGR expression in the human brain, particularly in neurons of the frontal cortex, and altered glucagon signaling may be associated with lower cognitive function. Further research is needed to elucidate mechanisms underlying the potential link between altered GCGR signaling and cognitive decline.

Indexed as

cognitive declineglucagon receptorimmunohistochemistryin situ hybridizationpostmortem brainUK Biobank

Identifiers

PMID40271226
PMCPMC12015093

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.