Skip to main content
Advertisement

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current Issue
    • Fast Forward
    • Latest Articles
    • Archive
  • Information
    • Instructions to Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • FAQs
    • For Subscribers
    • Terms & Conditions of Use
    • Permissions
  • Editorial Board
  • Alerts
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
  • Virtual Issues
  • Feedback
  • Submit
  • Other Publications
    • Drug Metabolism and Disposition
    • Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
    • Molecular Pharmacology
    • Pharmacological Reviews
    • Pharmacology Research & Perspectives
    • ASPET

User menu

  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Pharmacological Reviews
  • Other Publications
    • Drug Metabolism and Disposition
    • Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
    • Molecular Pharmacology
    • Pharmacological Reviews
    • Pharmacology Research & Perspectives
    • ASPET
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Pharmacological Reviews

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current Issue
    • Fast Forward
    • Latest Articles
    • Archive
  • Information
    • Instructions to Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • FAQs
    • For Subscribers
    • Terms & Conditions of Use
    • Permissions
  • Editorial Board
  • Alerts
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
  • Virtual Issues
  • Feedback
  • Submit
  • Visit Pharm Rev on Facebook
  • Follow Pharm Rev on Twitter
  • Follow ASPET on LinkedIn
Review ArticleReview Article

Physiology, Signaling, and Pharmacology of Galanin Peptides and Receptors: Three Decades of Emerging Diversity

Roland Lang, Andrew L. Gundlach, Fiona E. Holmes, Sally A. Hobson, David Wynick, Tomas Hökfelt and Barbara Kofler
Arthur Christopoulos, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Pharmacological Reviews January 2015, 67 (1) 118-175; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.112.006536
Roland Lang
Department of Dermatology (R.L.) and Laura Bassi Centre of Expertise, Department of Pediatrics (B.K.), Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A.L.G.); Schools of Physiology and Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom (F.E.H., S.A.H., D.W.); and Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (T.H.)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Andrew L. Gundlach
Department of Dermatology (R.L.) and Laura Bassi Centre of Expertise, Department of Pediatrics (B.K.), Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A.L.G.); Schools of Physiology and Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom (F.E.H., S.A.H., D.W.); and Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (T.H.)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Fiona E. Holmes
Department of Dermatology (R.L.) and Laura Bassi Centre of Expertise, Department of Pediatrics (B.K.), Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A.L.G.); Schools of Physiology and Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom (F.E.H., S.A.H., D.W.); and Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (T.H.)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sally A. Hobson
Department of Dermatology (R.L.) and Laura Bassi Centre of Expertise, Department of Pediatrics (B.K.), Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A.L.G.); Schools of Physiology and Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom (F.E.H., S.A.H., D.W.); and Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (T.H.)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
David Wynick
Department of Dermatology (R.L.) and Laura Bassi Centre of Expertise, Department of Pediatrics (B.K.), Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A.L.G.); Schools of Physiology and Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom (F.E.H., S.A.H., D.W.); and Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (T.H.)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Tomas Hökfelt
Department of Dermatology (R.L.) and Laura Bassi Centre of Expertise, Department of Pediatrics (B.K.), Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A.L.G.); Schools of Physiology and Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom (F.E.H., S.A.H., D.W.); and Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (T.H.)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Barbara Kofler
Department of Dermatology (R.L.) and Laura Bassi Centre of Expertise, Department of Pediatrics (B.K.), Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A.L.G.); Schools of Physiology and Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom (F.E.H., S.A.H., D.W.); and Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (T.H.)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Arthur Christopoulos
Department of Dermatology (R.L.) and Laura Bassi Centre of Expertise, Department of Pediatrics (B.K.), Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A.L.G.); Schools of Physiology and Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom (F.E.H., S.A.H., D.W.); and Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (T.H.)
Roles: ASSOCIATE EDITOR
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Galanin was first identified 30 years ago as a "classic neuropeptide," with actions primarily as a modulator of neurotransmission in the brain and peripheral nervous system. Other structurally-related peptides—galanin-like peptide and alarin—with diverse biologic actions in brain and other tissues have since been identified, although, unlike galanin, their cognate receptors are currently unknown. Over the last two decades, in addition to many neuronal actions, a number of nonneuronal actions of galanin and other galanin family peptides have been described. These include actions associated with neural stem cells, nonneuronal cells in the brain such as glia, endocrine functions, effects on metabolism, energy homeostasis, and paracrine effects in bone. Substantial new data also indicate an emerging role for galanin in innate immunity, inflammation, and cancer. Galanin has been shown to regulate its numerous physiologic and pathophysiological processes through interactions with three G protein–coupled receptors, GAL1, GAL2, and GAL3, and signaling via multiple transduction pathways, including inhibition of cAMP/PKA (GAL1, GAL3) and stimulation of phospholipase C (GAL2). In this review, we emphasize the importance of novel galanin receptor–specific agonists and antagonists. Also, other approaches, including new transgenic mouse lines (such as a recently characterized GAL3 knockout mouse) represent, in combination with viral-based techniques, critical tools required to better evaluate galanin system physiology. These in turn will help identify potential targets of the galanin/galanin-receptor systems in a diverse range of human diseases, including pain, mood disorders, epilepsy, neurodegenerative conditions, diabetes, and cancer.

Footnotes

  • R.L. and A.L.G. contributed equally to this work.

  • Support to A.L.G. was provided by NHMRC (Australia) (Fellowship Grant 1005985), a NARSAD Independent Investigator Award, and the Victorian Government Operational Infrastructure Support Programme. Support to F.E.H., S.A.H., and D.W. was provided by the Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, and Diabetes UK. Support to T.H. was provided by The Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, Funds from Karolinska Institutet, a NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award, an unrestricted Bristol-Myers Squibb Neuroscience grant, and the 6th Framework Program of the European Union (NewMood, LSHM-CT-2004-503474). Support for this work was provided by a grant from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG, 822782/THERAPEP) to B.K.

  • dx.doi.org/10.1124/pr.112.006536.

  • Copyright © 2014 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
View Full Text

PharmRev articles become freely available 12 months after publication, and remain freely available for 5 years. 

Non-open access articles that fall outside this five year window are available only to institutional subscribers and current ASPET members, or through the article purchase feature at the bottom of the page. 

 

  • Click here for information on institutional subscriptions.
  • Click here for information on individual ASPET membership.

 

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Pharmacological Reviews: 67 (1)
Pharmacological Reviews
Vol. 67, Issue 1
1 Jan 2015
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Editorial Board (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for sharing this Pharmacological Reviews article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Physiology, Signaling, and Pharmacology of Galanin Peptides and Receptors: Three Decades of Emerging Diversity
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Pharmacological Reviews
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Pharmacological Reviews.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Review ArticleReview Article

Galanin Family Peptides and Receptors

Roland Lang, Andrew L. Gundlach, Fiona E. Holmes, Sally A. Hobson, David Wynick, Tomas Hökfelt and Barbara Kofler
Pharmacological Reviews January 1, 2015, 67 (1) 118-175; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.112.006536

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero

Share
Review ArticleReview Article

Galanin Family Peptides and Receptors

Roland Lang, Andrew L. Gundlach, Fiona E. Holmes, Sally A. Hobson, David Wynick, Tomas Hökfelt and Barbara Kofler
Pharmacological Reviews January 1, 2015, 67 (1) 118-175; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.112.006536
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • I. Introduction—History of Galanin Systems
    • II. Galanin Genes and Peptides—Genomic Organization and Processing
    • III. Galanin Receptors
    • IV. Galanin Family Peptide and Galanin Receptor Distributions
    • V. Neuronal Actions of Galanin in the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems
    • VI. Actions of Galanin-Like Peptide in the Normal Brain and in Pathology
    • VII. Genetic Association Studies of Galanin and Galanin Receptors
    • VIII. Stem Cells
    • IX. Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Functions
    • X. Emerging Role of the Galanin Peptide Family in Inflammation
    • XI. Final Considerations
    • Acknowledgments
    • Author Contributions
    • Footnotes
    • Abbreviations
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • PROKINETICIN RECEPTORS AS THERAPEUTIC TARGETS
  • ASO and siRNA drugs for systemic diseases of liver origin
  • β-Arrestins: Structure, Function, and Physiology
Show more Review Articles

Similar Articles

Advertisement
  • Home
  • Alerts
Facebook   Twitter   LinkedIn   RSS

Navigate

  • Current Issue
  • Latest Articles
  • Archive
  • Search for Articles
  • Feedback
  • ASPET

More Information

  • About Pharmacological Reviews
  • Editorial Board
  • Instructions to Authors
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Customized Alerts
  • RSS Feeds
  • Subscriptions
  • Permissions
  • Terms & Conditions of Use

ASPET's Other Journals

  • Drug Metabolism and Disposition
  • Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
  • Molecular Pharmacology
  • Pharmacology Research & Perspectives
ISSN 1521-0081 (Online)

Copyright © 2023 by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics