The corticotropin-releasing factor system in inflammatory bowel disease: prospects for new therapeutic approaches.
Mounting evidence suggests that stress is implicated in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), via initial nervous disturbance and subsequent immune dysfunction through brain-gut interactions. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system, being the principal neuroendocrine coordinator of stress responses, is involved in the inflammatory process within the gastrointestinal tract, via vagal and peripheral pathways, as implied by multiple reports reviewed here. Blocking of CRF receptors could theoretically exert beneficial anti-inflammatory effects in colonic tissues. The recently synthesised small-molecule CRF(1) antagonists or alternatively non-peptide CRF(2) antagonists when available, may become new reliable options in the treatment of IBD.
Paschos
Konstantinos A
KA
Laboratory of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Laboratory of Pharmacology, Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), DUTH, Dragana, Alexandroupolis 68100, Thrace, Greece.
Kolios
George
G
Chatzaki
Ekaterini
E
D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone