Galanin receptors and ligands

Abstract

The neuropeptide galanin was first discovered 30 years ago. Today, the galanin family con- sists of galanin, galanin-like peptide (GALP), galanin-message associated peptide (GMAP), and alarin and this family has been shown to be involved in a wide variety of biological and pathological functions.The effect is mediated through three GPCR subtypes, GalR1-3. The limited number of specific ligands to the galanin receptor subtypes has hindered the understanding of the individual effects of each receptor subtype.This review aims to sum- marize the current data of the importance of the galanin receptor subtypes and receptor subtype specific agonists and antagonists and their involvement in different biological and pathological functions. © 2012 Webling, Runesson, Bartfai and Langel.