摘要：

The neurobiology of tachykinins and tachykinin receptors has been studied for several decades ( Guard and Watson 1991; Nakanishi 1991). The tachykinins are a family of peptides that are broadly distributed in the mammalian central nervous system. This neuropeptide family includes substance P (SP), neurokinin A and neurokinin B, and these act preferentially on three major neurokinin receptors, NK-1, NK-2 and NK-3, respectively ( Patacchini and Maggi 1995). Substance P and NK-1 receptors represent the most extensively studied sensory neuropeptide system, and this chapter reviews the central and peripheral effects of this tachykinin and discusses the therapeutic potential of drugs designed to interact specifically with this system.

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