Agonists and antagonists of regulatory peptides as tools to study regulation of pancreatic exocrine secretion, cell proliferation and gene expression

For more than two decades, our research group has been studying the pancreatic actions of three groups of regulatory peptides: members of the cholecystokinin/gastrin family, bombesin-like peptides and somatostatin. Investigating these peptides, our work has focused on three particularly interesting aspects: peptidergic regulation of pancreatic enzyme secretion and growth in adult rats, peptidergic control of pancreatic enzyme secretion and growth during postnatal development in rats, and peptidergic regulation of proliferation and differential gene expression in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells. Our data confirmed that the control of the exocrine function of the pancreas is complex, and that it involves peptides such as the cholecystokinin/gastrin-like peptides, bombesin-like peptides and somatostatin. In these investigations, it became evident that selective peptide receptor agonists, antagonists and monoclonal antibodies raised against peptides are useful tools to identify the role of these bioactive peptides in pancreatic exocrine secretion and cell proliferation.