Relationships between the autonomic nervous system and the pancreas including regulation of regeneration and apoptosis: recent developments.

Substantial new information has accumulated on the mechanisms of secretion, the development, and regulation of the gene expression, and the role of growth factors in the differentiation, growth, and regeneration of the pancreas. Many genes that are required for pancreas formation are active after birth and participate in endocrine and exocrine cell functions. Although the factors that normally regulate the proliferation of the pancreas largely remain elusive, several factors to influence the growth have been identified. It was also reported that the pancreas was sensitive to a number of apoptotic stimuli. The autonomic nervous system influences many of the functions of the body, including the pancreas. In fact, the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system have opposing effects on insulin secretion from islet beta cells; feeding-induced parasympathetic neural activity to the pancreas stimulates insulin secretion, whereas stress-induced sympathetic neural activity to the pancreas inhibits insulin secretion. Moreover, it has been reported that the autonomic nervous system is one of the important factors that regulate pancreatic regeneration and stimulate the carcinogenesis. The present review focuses on the relationships between the autonomic nervous system and the pancreas, and furthermore, presents evidence of the autonomic nervous system-related pancreatic regeneration and carcinogenesis.