Abstract

The occurrence and distribution of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) are summarized in invertebrate species with special attention to annelids, mollusks, and arthropods in this review. Furthermore, the role of PACAP is highlighted in physiological and behavioral processes of oligochaete (Lumbricus), gastropods (Helix, Lymnaea), insect (Drosophila), as well as malacostraca (Litopenaeus). Since its discovery PACAP has become increasingly recognized for its important and diversified roles in the central and peripheral nervous system and in several peripheral organs of a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species. Twenty-six years after its discovery, PACAP is now one of the most extensively studied neuropeptides both in invertebrate and vertebrate species. This review surveys the importance of PACAP or PACAP-like peptide(s) in invertebrates. The relevance of studies on lower vertebrates and invertebrates, which do not have a pituitary gland like higher vertebrate, is to contribute to the unraveling of fundamental effects of PACAP or PACAP-like peptide(s) and to provide a comparative view.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.