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Galanin Acts as a Trophic Factor to the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems

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Galanin

Part of the book series: Experientia Supplementum ((EXS,volume 102))

Abstract

The neuropeptide galanin is widely, but not ubiquitously, expressed in the adult nervous system. Its expression is markedly up-regulated in many neuronal tissues after nerve injury or disease. Over the last 10 years, we have demonstrated that the peptide plays a developmental survival role to subsets of neurons in the peripheral and central nervous systems with resulting phenotypic changes in neuropathic pain and cognition. Galanin also appears to play a trophic role to adult sensory neurons following injury, via activation of GalR2, by stimulating neurite outgrowth. Furthermore, galanin also plays a neuroprotective role to the hippocampus following excitotoxic injury, again mediated by activation of GalR2. Most recently, we have shown that galanin expression is markedly up-regulated in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions and in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of MS. Over-expression of galanin in transgenic mice abolishes disease in the EAE model, whilst loss-of-function mutations in galanin or GalR2 increase disease severity. In summary, these studies demonstrate that a GalR2 agonist might have clinical utility in a variety of human diseases that affect the nervous system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Physiology, Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences South Bristol, School of Medical Sciences, University Walk, Bristol University, Bristol, BS8 1TD, UK

    S-A. Hobson, A. Bacon, C. R. Elliot-Hunt, F. E. Holmes, N. C. H. Kerr, R. Pope, P. Vanderplank & D. Wynick

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  1. S-A. Hobson
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  2. A. Bacon
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  3. C. R. Elliot-Hunt
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  4. F. E. Holmes
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  5. N. C. H. Kerr
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  6. R. Pope
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  7. P. Vanderplank
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  8. D. Wynick
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Correspondence to D. Wynick .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Retzius vaeg 8, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden

    Tomas Hökfelt

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Hobson, SA. et al. (2010). Galanin Acts as a Trophic Factor to the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems. In: Hökfelt, T. (eds) Galanin. Experientia Supplementum, vol 102. Springer, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0346-0228-0_3

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