Uraemia was induced in pigs by ligation of the renal vascular pedicle, and uraemic plasma was analysed for glucagon and glucagon-related peptides. A preponderance of large molecular weight (Mr) components comprising glicentin and moieties of slightly lower Mr was found, accounting for 73 +/- 3% (mean +/- SEM, n = 12) of the total plasma glucagon-like immunoreactivity. Comparisons with glicentin 1-61, produced by controlled, stepwise, consecutive digestion of purified natural glicentin with carboxypeptidases (carboxypeptidase A followed by carboxypeptidase B, and again by carboxypeptidase A and B), gel filtration, ion exchange chromatography, reverse phase HPLC and radioimmunoassays for the glucagon sequences 6-15 and 19-29 and for the glicentin sequence 12-30 all indicate that glicentin 1-61 constitutes approximately 57% of the large Mr glucagon-related peptides found in uraemia in pigs.