Abstract
Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a neuropeptide widely distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) and many peripheral organs, such as the digestive tract, endocrine, reproductive and respiratory systems, where it plays different regulatory functions and exerts a cytoprotective effect. The multifarious physiological effects of PACAP are mediated through binding to different G protein-coupled receptors, including PAC1 (PAC1-R), VPAC1 (VPAC1-R) and VPAC2 (VPAC2-R) receptors. In the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, PACAP plays an important regulatory function. PACAP stimulates the secretion of digestive juices and hormone release, regulates smooth muscle contraction, local blood flow, cell migration and proliferation. Additionally, there are many reports confirming the involvement of PACAP in pathological processes within the GI tract, including inflammatory states, neuronal injury, diabetes, intoxication and neoplastic processes. The purpose of this review is to summarize the distribution and pleiotropic action of PACAP in the control of GI tract function and its cytoprotective effect in the course of GI tract disorders.
Highlights
Numerous morphological and neurochemical studies indicated that Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is widely distributed in the GI tract of numerous species, including humans
PACAP participates in many physiological functions in the digestive tract, such as regulation of motility, the secretion of digestive juices, exocrine function of the pancreas, intestinal absorption, cell migration and proliferation
An increasing number of scientific reports have confirmed that PACAP is an important cytoprotective factor with anti-apoptotic, antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a neuropeptide that was first identified in an ovine hypothalamus extract in 1989 It is involved in stimulating adenylate cyclase from cultured rat pituitary cells [1]. 2. Localization of PACAP in the Gastrointestinal Tract in Individual Species of Mammals. The presence of PACAP in the GI tract has been described in various mammal species, including humans [7,10,11,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33].
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