Salivary glands of various animal species have been reported to contain and suggested to produce glucagon or glucagon-like material, but the origin and the nature of this salivary peptide are still doubtful. The present study was undertaken to ascertain whether the glucagon gene is expressed in rat submandibular glands and in an immortalized murine cell line derived from salivary glands (SCA-9 cell line). For this purpose, total RNA was isolated from submandibular glands or cultured cells and submitted to reverse transcription. The cDNAs obtained were amplified by a nested polymerase chain reaction using preproglucagon primers. The results showed that the preproglucagon mRNA was expressed in adult rat submandibular glands but not in the SCA-9 cell line. Determination of cyclic DNA (cDNA) sequence established identity with the coding regions of rat pancreatic pre-proglucagon gene. In conclusion, these results strongly support the idea that rat submandibular glands could represent a source of extrapancreatic glucagon or of its precursor's peptide.