Analysis of the physiological vs. pharmacological actions of GLP-2 is somewhat challenging due to the lack of high affinity specific GLP-2 receptor antagonists. Hartmann and colleagues employed immunoneutralizing antisera to GLP-2 to examine the importance of endogenous GLP-2 in the development of adaptive mucosal growth in rats with experimental diabetes. GLP-2 antisera significantly attenuated the increase mucosal area in the proximal part of the small intestine without producing effects on body weight, glucose or food intake. See Immunoneutralization of endogenous glucagon-like peptide-2 reduces adaptive intestinal growth in diabetic rats. Regul Pept. 2002 May 30;105 (3):173-9
Thulesen and colleagues employed GLP-2(3-33) as a partial antagonist to demonstrate that this peptide attenuated the exogenous of GLP-2(1-33) in cell experiments in vitro and in mice in vivo. GLP-2(3-33) also acts as a partial agonist at the GLP-2 receptor. See The truncated metabolite GLP-2 (3-33) interacts with the GLP-2 receptor as a partial agonist. Regul Pept. 2002 Jan 15;103(1):9-15.
Shin and colleagues employed GLP-2(3-33) to examine the importance of endogenous murine GLP-2 in the mucosal adaptation to fasting and re-feeding. GLP-2(3-33) significantly reduced the adaptive mucosal re-growth in re-fed mice via effects on crypt cell proliferation and apoptosis as shown in Mucosal Adaptation to Enteral Nutrients is Dependent on the Physiologic Actions of Glucagon-Like Peptide-2 in Mice. Gastroenterology. 2005 May;128(5):1340-53