Can galanin also be considered as growth-associated protein 3.2?

A recent study has shown that mice containing a loss-of-function mutation in the gene encoding galanin exhibit decreased peripheral nerve regeneration after a lesion. This major advance indicates, for the first time, that the large increases in galanin expression that occur in axotomized peripheral neurons have functional consequences for regeneration. Hopefully, similar functional consequences will soon be found for other peptides induced in these neurons after axotomy, such as vasoactive intestinal peptide and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide.