MSD V-PLEX · U-PLEX

Protease Inhibitor Collection Required

MSD Metabolic Hormone & Gut Peptide Panel Services

Q: Are these panels validated for clinical diagnostic use?

No. All metabolic hormone panels are manufacturer-validated for research use only (RUO). They are suitable for preclinical studies, cohort research, biomarker discovery, and therapeutic development applications. They are not validated for clinical diagnostic procedures or patient management decisions.

Quantify the complete enteroinsular axis — insulin, glucagon, GLP-1 (active and total), GIP, C-peptide, leptin, PYY, ghrelin, and pancreatic polypeptide — in a single 25 µL sample using electrochemiluminescence (ECL), with pre-analytical protocols validated for the protease inhibitor-stabilized collection that gut hormones require.

The gut-brain-pancreas hormonal network governs glucose homeostasis, appetite, energy expenditure, and nutrient partitioning. Measuring one or two hormones in isolation provides an incomplete picture — insulin resistance cannot be interpreted without knowing whether glucagon is appropriately suppressed, GLP-1 secretion cannot be evaluated without accounting for DPP-IV-mediated degradation, and the appetite-regulating effects of bariatric surgery cannot be understood without simultaneous measurement of GLP-1, PYY, and ghrelin. Our MSD metabolic hormone panels capture this network in a single well, with active/total isoform discrimination, species-matched configurations from mouse to NHP, and the protease inhibitor protocols that make gut hormone quantification analytically meaningful rather than merely detectable.

Inquire About Metabolic Panels View Analyte Coverage

The Enteroinsular Axis — Why Multiplex Measurement Matters

The gut-brain-pancreas axis is a coordinated hormonal network: nutrient ingestion triggers L-cell secretion of GLP-1 and PYY, which potentiate glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (the incretin effect) while suppressing glucagon and slowing gastric emptying. Simultaneously, gastric X/A-like cells secrete ghrelin to stimulate appetite, while adipose tissue releases leptin to signal long-term energy stores. These hormones do not act independently — their ratios, temporal dynamics, and coordinated responses to physiological challenges carry more biological information than any single hormone concentration.

 Key Metabolic Hormones — Biological Roles and Research Relevance
Insulin: Pancreatic β-cell hormone; the primary anabolic signal. Fasting levels reflect insulin sensitivity; postprandial or glucose-stimulated levels reflect β-cell function. Must be interpreted together with glucagon (insulin:glucagon ratio) and C-peptide (distinguishes endogenous from exogenous insulin).
Glucagon: Pancreatic α-cell hormone; counter-regulatory to insulin — stimulates hepatic glucose output. Dysregulated in type 2 diabetes (failure of glucose-induced glucagon suppression). Requires protease inhibitor-stabilized collection due to rapid ex vivo degradation.
GLP-1 (Active & Total): L-cell incretin hormone; potentiates insulin secretion, suppresses glucagon, delays gastric emptying. Active form (7-36 amide) engages the GLP-1R; total assay captures both active and DPP-IV-cleaved inactive forms. Central to incretin biology, DPP-IV inhibitor pharmacology, and GLP-1R agonist development.
GIP (Active & Total): K-cell incretin hormone; insulinotropic effects dependent on metabolic state. The second major incretin alongside GLP-1. GIPR agonists in active development for obesity and diabetes.
C-Peptide: Cleaved from proinsulin during insulin maturation; secreted in equimolar amounts with endogenous insulin but not present in exogenous insulin preparations. Essential for distinguishing endogenous insulin secretion from administered insulin in research participants receiving insulin therapy.
Leptin: Adipocyte hormone; signals long-term energy stores to the hypothalamus. Leptin resistance is a hallmark of obesity. Concentrations span three orders of magnitude from lean to obese — requiring wide dynamic range.
PYY (Total): L-cell hormone co-secreted with GLP-1; suppresses appetite via hypothalamic Y2 receptors. Dramatically elevated after bariatric surgery and implicated in surgically induced weight loss.
Ghrelin (Active & Total): Gastric X/A-like cell hormone; the only known orexigenic gut peptide. Active ghrelin requires octanoylation at Ser3 for GHS-R1a receptor activation. Total ghrelin captures both acylated and des-acyl forms.
Pancreatic Polypeptide (PP): PP-cell hormone; regulates pancreatic exocrine secretion and gastric motility. Surrogate marker of vagal tone. Elevated in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (research context).

Metabolic Hormone Analyte Coverage

Analyte	Active/Total Isoforms	Species	LLOD (Approx.)
Insulin	Single assay	Human Mouse Rat NHP	~11 pg/mL
Glucagon	Single assay	Human Mouse Rat NHP	~21 pg/mL
GLP-1	Active (7-36 amide) / Total / Inactive (9-36)	Human Mouse Rat	~0.5–1 pg/mL
GIP	Active / Total / Inactive	Human Mouse NHP	~1–2 pg/mL
C-Peptide	Single assay	Human Mouse Rat NHP	~10 pg/mL
Leptin	Single assay	Human Mouse Rat NHP	~6–17 pg/mL
PYY	Total	Human Mouse Rat	~5–10 pg/mL
Ghrelin	Active (acylated) / Total	Human Mouse Rat	~1–5 pg/mL (active)
PP	Single assay	Human NHP	~3–5 pg/mL
FGF-21	Single assay	Human Mouse Rat	~5–15 pg/mL
FGF-23	Single assay	Human	~2–5 pg/mL
Proinsulin	Single assay	Human	~1–3 pg/mL
BDNF	Single assay	Human Mouse Rat	~1–5 pg/mL

Pre-Configured Panel Configurations

Panel	Plex	Included Analytes	Species
Metabolic 2-Plex	2	Insulin, Leptin	Human Mouse Rat
Metabolic 3-Plex	3	GLP-1 (active), Glucagon, Insulin	Human Mouse Rat
Metabolic 4-Plex	4	GLP-1 (active), Glucagon, Insulin, Leptin	Human
Metabolic 7-Plex Panel 1	7	C-Peptide, GIP (total), GLP-1 (total), Glucagon, Insulin, Leptin, PYY (total)	Human
Metabolic 7-Plex Panel 2	7	C-Peptide, GIP (total), GLP-1 (active), Glucagon, Insulin, Leptin, PYY (total)	Human
Metabolic 10-Plex Panel 2	10	BDNF, β-NGF, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, Insulin, Leptin, MCP-1, TNF-α	Human
Metabolic 22-Plex	22	BAFF, BDNF, β-NGF, C-Peptide, FGF-21, FGF-23, FSH, Ghrelin (active), Ghrelin (total), GIP (active), GIP (inactive), GIP (total), GLP-1 (active), GLP-1 (inactive), GLP-1 (total), Glucagon, Insulin, Leptin, LH, PP, Proinsulin, PYY (total)	Human
Metabolic 87-Plex	87	Full 22-plex hormones + 65 cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and vascular markers	Human

Metabolic Hormone Panel Service Details

Service Package

Item	Full Service	Kit Only
Inhibitor Collection Tubes	Provided	— Self-supplied
Sample Processing	Included	— Self-run
Standard Curve	8-point, all analytes	Calibrators provided
QC Samples	3 levels, duplicate	— User-prepared
Pre-Analytical QC Review	Included	— Self-review
Data Report	Full quantitative report	— Self-analysis

For Research Use Only. Not for diagnostic procedures.

How to Get Started

Select Panel & Isoforms

Choose your panel configuration and active/total isoform options. We'll advise based on your research question and expected concentration ranges.

Collect with Inhibitors

Use our pre-loaded protease inhibitor tubes. Follow the timed collection protocol. We ship tubes, SOPs, and documentation forms before your collection begins.

Receive Data

Receive your quantitative report with hormone concentrations, pre-analytical QC flags, and methods documentation formatted for metabolic research publications.

Metabolic Hormone Panel FAQ

Which GLP-1 assay — active or total — should I use?

The choice between active and total GLP-1 is one of the most consequential decisions in metabolic study design. Active GLP-1 (7-36 amide/7-37) is the biologically active incretin — relevant for DPP-IV inhibitor studies, GLP-1R agonist pharmacology, and research questions focused on incretin receptor signaling. Total GLP-1 captures all forms and reflects overall L-cell secretory capacity — more appropriate for nutrient-stimulated secretion studies and bariatric surgery research where secretion is dramatically upregulated. If studying both DPP-IV-mediated degradation and overall secretion, measuring both active and total (available in the 22-Plex) enables calculation of the active/total ratio, which is itself a biologically informative parameter reflecting DPP-IV activity in vivo. Our 7-Plex Panel 1 uses total GLP-1; Panel 2 uses active GLP-1.

Why can't I use standard EDTA plasma for gut hormone measurement?

Standard EDTA inhibits coagulation but does not inhibit DPP-IV or other plasma proteases that rapidly degrade GLP-1, glucagon, GIP, and ghrelin ex vivo. Without DPP-IV inhibitor, active GLP-1 has a half-life of approximately 1–2 minutes in collected blood at room temperature. This means that even with rapid processing, a substantial fraction of active GLP-1 is lost during the time between blood draw and plasma freezing. With DPP-IV inhibitor (e.g., Millipore DPP4 inhibitor or sitagliptin) and aprotinin added to the collection tube, active GLP-1 is stabilized for at least 30 minutes at 4°C — provided the sample is kept cold and centrifuged promptly. The inhibitor cocktail is not optional for gut hormone measurement; it determines whether you are measuring biology or degradation kinetics.

How does MSD multiplexing compare to individual ELISAs or RIAs for metabolic hormones?

Traditional metabolic hormone measurement by RIA or ELISA requires 50–100 µL of plasma per analyte. A comprehensive profile (insulin, glucagon, active GLP-1, GIP, leptin, C-peptide, PYY) would consume 350–700 µL — impossible for a single mouse sample and challenging even for human samples when multiple timepoints are collected. MSD multiplexing measures all seven hormones from 25 µL of the same plasma aliquot. Beyond volume, MSD eliminates the radioactive waste and regulatory burden of RIA, provides wider dynamic range than most ELISAs (critical for analytes like leptin that span 3+ orders of magnitude), and delivers results in ~70 seconds per plate rather than hours. For rodent metabolic research, the volume advantage alone is usually decisive.

Are these panels validated for clinical diagnostic use?

No. All metabolic hormone panels are manufacturer-validated for research use only (RUO). They are suitable for preclinical studies, cohort research, biomarker discovery, and therapeutic development applications. They are not validated for clinical diagnostic procedures or patient management decisions.

Can I add inflammatory markers to my metabolic hormone panel?

Yes. Several pre-configured panels already integrate metabolic hormones with inflammatory markers — the 10-Plex Panel 2 includes insulin, leptin, IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1, IL-1β, IL-8, IL-10, BDNF, and β-NGF. The 22-Plex and 87-Plex extend this further with comprehensive cytokine and chemokine coverage. For custom configurations, U-PLEX allows any combination of metabolic hormones and inflammatory markers from the available catalog. Combining metabolic and inflammatory readouts is increasingly important in obesity, diabetes, and NAFLD/NASH research, where metaflammation — chronic low-grade inflammation driven by adipose tissue and hepatic immune cells — is recognized as a core pathophysiological mechanism.

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