title: VIP and PACAP: very important in pain?
abstract: Neuropathic pain arising from direct trauma to, or compression injury of, peripheral nerves is a common clinical problem. It is characterized by the development of abnormal pain states (spontaneous pain, hyperalgesia, allodynia), which can persist long after the initial injury has resolved. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood and, as a consequence, treatment is often unsatisfactory. Some of the main contributing factors are thought to be the morphological and phenotypic changes that occur centrally, including alterations in the expression of neurotransmitters and their associated receptors, both in the dorsal root ganglia and in the spinal dorsal horn. This article focuses on the functional role of the two structurally related peptides VIP and PACAP within the spinal cord, and their possible contribution to the altered transmission of sensory information in neuropathic conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Quintiles Scotland Ltd, Research Avenue South, Heriot-Watt University Research Park, Riccarton, Edinburgh, UK EH14 4AP.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dickinson
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Fleetwood-Walker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000737:chemistry; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000502:physiology*; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000473:pathology; D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D051381:Rats; D051236:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D011979:Receptors, Pituitary Hormone / Q000502:physiology; D018005:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000502:physiology; D051239:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide, Type II; D051238:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide, Type I; D015290:Second Messenger Systems / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000737:chemistry*; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C495403:Adcyap1 protein, rat; D009479:Neuropeptides; D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D051236:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D011979:Receptors, Pituitary Hormone; D018005:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D051239:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide, Type II; D051238:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide, Type I; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide