title: Secretin as a neuropeptide.
abstract: The role of secretin as a classical hormone in the gastrointestinal system is well-established. The recent debate on the use of secretin as a potential therapeutic treatment for autistic patients urges a better understanding of the neuroactive functions of secretin. Indeed, there is an increasing body of evidence pointing to the direction that, in addition to other peptides in the secretin/glucagon superfamily, secretin is also a neuropeptide. The purpose of this review is to discuss the recent data for supporting the neurocrine roles of secretin in rodents. By in situ hybridization and immunostaining, secretin was found to be expressed in distinct neuronal populations within the cerebellum and cerebral cortex, whereas the receptor transcript was found throughout the brain. In the rat cerebellum, secretin functions as a retrograde messenger to facilitate GABA transmission, indicating that it can modulate motor and other functions. In summary, the recent data support strongly the neuropeptide role of secretin, although the secretin-autism link remains to be clarified in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PRC.
authors.forename: Samuel S M
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yung
authors.forename: Billy K C
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Chow
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D008322:Mammals / Q000378:metabolism; D008959:Models, Neurological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D011964:Receptors, Gastrointestinal Hormone / Q000502:physiology; D012633:Secretin / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D011964:Receptors, Gastrointestinal Hormone; C029937:secretin receptor; D012633:Secretin; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid