title: Neuropeptides as therapeutic approach to autoimmune diseases.
abstract: Because there are no particular molecular signatures of self, autoimmunity is the inevitable evolutionary price of being able to make effective responses against a wide variety of pathogens by the immune system. Without the various phenomena referred to as immune tolerance, the organism would surely self-destruct. Considerable evidence suggests that various endogenous neuropeptides play a major role in the education of our immune system to be self-tolerant. The fact that neuropeptides regulate various layers involved in maintenance of tolerance, including regulation of the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses and between self-reactive Th1/Th17 cells and regulatory T cells, makes them attractive candidates for the development of new therapies for the treatment of autoimmune disorders. Here we use the vasoactive intestinal peptide of a prototype of immunomodulatory neuropeptide to review the most relevant data found for other neuropeptides with similar characteristics, including melanocyte-stimulating hormone, urocortin, adrenomedullin, neuropeptide Y, cortistatin and ghrelin. We also evaluate the challenges that must be overcome before achieving their clinical application and offer our opinion on how a physiologically functional neuropeptide system contributes to general health.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine, CSIC, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Rey
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Delgado-Maroto
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Souza Moreira
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delgado
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008954:Models, Biological; D015213:Neuroimmunomodulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D007155:Immunologic Factors; D009479:Neuropeptides; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide