Discovery of PACAP and its receptors in the brain

• Published in: Journal of headache and pain Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 28 - 8
• Main Authors: Hirabayashi, Takahiro, Nakamachi, Tomoya, Shioda, Seiji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Milan Springer Milan 04.04.2018; Springer Nature B.V; BMC
• Subjects: Animals; G protein-coupled receptors; Glucagon; Homology; Humans; Internal Medicine; Intestine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neurology; Neuropeptide; PAC1 protein; PAC1-R; PACAP; Pain Medicine; Pituitary; Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide; Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide - physiology; Polypeptides; Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide - physiology; Review; Review Article; Secretin; Vasoactive agents; Vasoactive intestinal peptide; VPAC1-R; VPAC2-R; PAC1-R; G protein-coupled receptors; PACAP; VPAC1-R; VPAC2-R; Molecular cloning; Neuropeptide
• ISSN: 1129-2369; 1129-2377; 1129-2377
• DOI: 10.1186/s10194-018-0855-1

Pituitary adenylate-cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a 27- or 38-amino acid neuropeptide, which belongs to the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)/glucagon/secretin family. PACAP shows particularly high homology (~ 68%) to VIP. Because of the high homology of the amino acid sequences of PACAP and VIP, these peptides share three class B-G-protein coupled receptors: the PAC1-Receptor (PAC1-R), the VPAC1-Receptor (VPAC1-R) and VPAC2-Receptor (VPAC2-R). These receptors have high homology to each other, and their high homology is utilized for these discoveries. This review provides mainly an overview of the history of the discovery of PACAP and its three receptors.