title: Growth hormone-releasing hormone and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide in the reproductive system.
abstract: Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) are both members of the glucagon superfamily that, with gonadotropins, act at central and peripheral levels as paracrine and autocrine coregulators of reproductive function. GHRH and PACAP are ancient peptides. Their original forms (both 27 amino acids long) were encoded by a single ancestral gene, several duplications of which led to the genes that encode the neuropeptides of the glucagon superfamily. In the male and female reproductive tracts, GHRH and PACAP interact with a subset of G protein-coupled receptors that are structurally similar to the PACAP receptor and variants of the vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor, and share several biological actions. These are related mainly to the modulation of cAMP-dependent and other signal transduction pathways in several cells of the pituitary-gonadal axis. The recent discovery that antagonists of GHRH and PACAP suppress the growth of human cancer cell lines that are derived from reproductive tissues indicates the potential importance of these peptides as local regulators of cell division, cell cycle arrest, differentiation and cell death.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Internal Medicine, Unit of Endocrinology, University of Tor Vergata, Via di Tor Vergata 135, 00133 Rome, Italy. moretti@med.uniroma2.it
authors.forename: Costanzo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mencacci
authors.forename: Giovanni Vanni
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Frajese
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerilli
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Frajese
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000503:physiopathology; D005834:Genital Neoplasms, Male / Q000503:physiopathology; D006066:Gonads / Q000502:physiology; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008322:Mammals; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D018013:Receptors, Neuropeptide / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051236:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D011979:Receptors, Pituitary Hormone / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018017:Receptors, Pituitary Hormone-Regulating Hormone / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C495401:ADCYAP1 protein, human; D009479:Neuropeptides; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D018013:Receptors, Neuropeptide; D051236:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D011979:Receptors, Pituitary Hormone; D018017:Receptors, Pituitary Hormone-Regulating Hormone; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone; C048250:somatotropin releasing hormone receptor