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REVIEW article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Molecular Psychiatry
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1495598
This article is part of the Research Topic The Role of Neuropeptides in Stress-Mediated Psychiatric Disorders View all articles

Pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating polypeptide modulates the stress response: Its involvement in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders

Provisionally accepted
Anika Singh Anika Singh 1Paul Shim Paul Shim 2Sadaf Neem Sadaf Neem 3Shafiqur Rahman Shafiqur Rahman 4Kabirullah Lutfy Kabirullah Lutfy 5*
  • 1 University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, United States
  • 2 California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Pomona, California, United States
  • 3 Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
  • 4 South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota, United States
  • 5 Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Stress is necessary for survival. However, chronic unnecessary stress exposure leads to cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and neuropsychiatric disorders. Thus, understanding the mechanisms involved in the initiation and maintenance of the stress response is essential since it may reveal the underpinning pathophysiology of these disorders and may aid in the development of medication to treat stressmediated diseases. Pituitary adenylyl cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) and its receptors (PAC1, VPAC1 and VPAC2) are expressed in the hypothalamus and other brain areas as well as in the adrenal gland . Previous research has shown that this peptide/receptor system serves as a modulator of the stress response. In addition to modulating the stress response, this system may also be connected to its emerging role as neuroprotective against hypoxia, ischemia, and neurodegeneration. This article aims to review the literature regarding the role of PACAP and its receptors in the stress response as well as long -term adaptation to stress recognizable clinically as survival with resilience while manifested in anxiety, depression and other neurobehavioral disorders.

    Keywords: PACAP, stress, HPA axis, extrahypothalamic structures, adrenal gland, PVN, BNST, CEA

    Received: 12 Sep 2024; Accepted: 06 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Singh, Shim, Neem, Rahman and Lutfy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kabirullah Lutfy, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.