Presence of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide-38 in human plasma and milk

ObjectivePituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a pleiotropic and multifunctional neuropeptide widely distributed throughout the body. It is involved in the regulation of various physiological and pathophysiological processes, such as reproduction, thermoregulation, motor acti...

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Published in:	European journal of endocrinology Vol. 160; no. 4; pp. 561 - 565
Main Authors:	Borzsei, Rita, Mark, Laszlo, Tamas, Andrea, Bagoly, Terez, Bay, Csaba, Csanaky, Katalin, Banki, Eszter, Kiss, Peter, Vaczy, Alexandra, Horvath, Gabriella, Nemeth, Jozsef, Szauer, Edit, Helyes, Zsuzsanna, Reglodi, Dora
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Bristol BioScientifica 01-04-2009
Subjects:	Adult Aging - psychology Amino Acid Sequence Biological and medical sciences Breast - cytology Breast - growth & development Clinical Study Eating - physiology Endocrinopathies Female Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Humans Male Mass Spectrometry Medical sciences Middle Aged Milk, Human - chemistry Molecular Sequence Data Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide - blood Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide - metabolism Radioimmunoassay Sex Characteristics Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization Vertebrates: endocrinology Young Adult Adenylate cyclase Endocrine gland Enzyme Polypeptide Phosphorus-oxygen lyases Human milk Pituitary gland Lyases Endocrinology Blood plasma
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Summary:	ObjectivePituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a pleiotropic and multifunctional neuropeptide widely distributed throughout the body. It is involved in the regulation of various physiological and pathophysiological processes, such as reproduction, thermoregulation, motor activity, brain development, neuronal survival, inflammation and pain. Since little is known about its distribution in humans, our aim was to examine PACAP-38 in human plasma. Furthermore, based on the presence of vasoactive intestinal peptide, structurally the closest to PACAP, in milk and PACAP and its receptors in the mammary gland, our aim was to study PACAP-38 in human milk.Design and methodsThe presence of PACAP-38 was determined by mass spectrometry in plasma samples from healthy male and female volunteers (age: 20–40), as well as in plasma and milk samples from lactating women (age: 20–35). PACAP concentration was measured with a specific and sensitive RIA.ResultsOur results revealed that PACAP-38 is present in human plasma, its concentration is relatively stable in healthy volunteers and it is not significantly altered by gender, age, food intake or hormonal cycle in females. However, PACAP-38 plasma levels significantly increased in lactating women having 1–6 month-old babies. Moreover, this study is the first which provides evidence for the presence of PACAP-38 in the human milk with levels 5–20-fold greater in the milk whey than in the respective plasma samples.ConclusionsWe found PACAP-38 in human plasma and its increase during the first 6 months of the lactation period. A prominent, nearly 10-fold higher concentration of this peptide was detected in human milk. Based on the literature, several important actions of milk-derived PACAP-38 can be suggested such as mammary gland proliferation, nutrient transfer as well as regulation of growth/differentiation of certain tissues of the neonates. The novelty of the present descriptive data provides a basis for further investigations on the mechanism of PACAP-38 secretion in human milk and its functional significance.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0804-4643 1479-683X
DOI:	10.1530/EJE-08-0911