Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (LCMN), School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, 2007 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
J Integr Neurosci. 2022 Jan 28;21(1):33. doi: 10.31083/j.jin2101033.
Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) are two widely expressed neuropeptides with important immunomodulatory and neuroprotective properties in the central nervous system (CNS). Both VIP and PACAP have been implicated in several neurological diseases and have shown favourable effects in different animal models of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a chronic inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the CNS affecting over 2.5 million people worldwide. The disease is characterised by extensive neuroinflammation, demyelination and axonal loss. Currently, there is no cure for MS, with treatment options only displaying partial efficacy. Importantly, epidemiological studies in the MS population have demonstrated that there is a high incidence of neurological and psychological comorbidities such as depression, anxiety, epilepsy and stroke among afflicted people. Hence, given the widespread protective effects of the VIP/PACAP system in the CNS, this review will aim at exploring the beneficial roles of VIP and PACAP in ameliorating some of the most common neurological comorbidities associated with MS. The final scope of the review is to put more emphasis on how targeting the VIP/PACAP system may be an effective therapeutic strategy to modify MS disease course and its associated comorbidities.
血管活性肠肽（VIP）和垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽（PACAP）是两种广泛表达的神经肽，在中枢神经系统（CNS）中具有重要的免疫调节和神经保护特性。VIP 和 PACAP 都与几种神经疾病有关，并在多发性硬化症（MS）的不同动物模型中显示出良好的效果。MS 是一种慢性炎症性和神经退行性疾病，影响全球超过 250 万人。该疾病的特征是广泛的神经炎症、脱髓鞘和轴突丢失。目前，MS 尚无治愈方法，治疗方法仅显示部分疗效。重要的是，MS 患者的流行病学研究表明，受影响人群中存在高发病率的神经和心理合并症，如抑郁、焦虑、癫痫和中风。因此，鉴于 VIP/PACAP 系统在中枢神经系统中的广泛保护作用，本综述将旨在探讨 VIP 和 PACAP 在改善与 MS 相关的一些最常见的神经合并症中的有益作用。综述的最终范围是强调靶向 VIP/PACAP 系统如何可能成为改变 MS 疾病过程及其相关合并症的有效治疗策略。
