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The discovery of secretin initiated the field of endocrinology. Over the past century, multiple gastrointestinal functions of secretin have been extensively studied, and it was discovered that the principal function of this peptide in the gastrointestinal system is to facilitate digestion and to provide protection. In view of the late identification of secretin and the secretin receptor in various tissues, including the central nervous system, the pleiotropic functions of secretin have more recently been an area of intense focus. Secretin is a classical hormone, and recent studies clearly showed secretin's involvement in neural and neuroendocrine pathways, although the neuroactivity and neural regulation of its release are yet to be elucidated. This chapter reviews our current understanding of the pleiotropic actions of secretin with a special focus on the hormonal and neural interdependent pathways that mediate these actions.

Secretin, a 27-amino acid gastrointestinal peptide, was initially discovered based on its activities in stimulating pancreatic juice. In the past 20 years, secretin was demonstrated to exhibit pleiotropic functions in many different tissues and more importantly, its role as a neuropeptide was substantiated. To carry out its activities in the central nervous system and in peripheral organs, secretin interacts specifically with one known receptor. Secretin receptor, a member of guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G protein)-coupled receptor (GPCR) in the secretin/VIP/glucagon subfamily, possesses the characteristics of GPCR with seven conserved transmembrane domains, a relatively large amino-terminal extracellular domain and an intracellular carboxyl terminus. The structural features and signal transduction pathways of the secretin receptor in various tissues are reviewed in this article.

Secretin is a classical gastrointestinal peptide while its neuroactive functions in the central nervous system have recently been consolidated. In the past, there was little information regarding the expression of secretin receptor in prenatal development. In this article, using mouse embryos and by in situ hybridization, secretin receptor transcripts were detected in several developing brain regions including the cerebellar primordium and choroid plexus. In the developing intestine, secretin receptor is present in the epithelial lining of the villi and the inner circular muscle. Interestingly, the transcripts for secretin receptor were also detected in the epicardium and myocardium of the developing heart as well as the glomerulus and collecting duct in the developing kidney. Taken together, our data suggest a potential pleiotrophic role of secretin during embryonic development.

The gastrointestinal functions of the 27-amino acid secretin peptide have been well established. In previous prenatal studies, secretin expression in the rat duodenum was reported after day 17 of gestation while its expression in other organs and its functions in the developing embryos are still unknown. By in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical staining, secretin transcripts and peptides were found to be widely expressed in mouse embryos. Consistent with the idea that secretin is a brain-gut peptide, its expressions are present in several developing brain regions such as cephalic mesenchyme, cerebellar primordium and choroid plexus as well as the epithelial villi lining and inner circular muscle of the developing intestine. Other than these organs, secretin was also detected in the developing heart including the ventricular epicardium and myocardium and certain structures of the developing kidney like ureteric bud, collecting duct and glomerulus. These observations strongly suggest for a functional role of secretin during mouse embryonic development.