The Prokineticin System in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Clinical and Preclinical Overview

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis(UC), which are characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. IBDs clinicalmanifestations are heterogeneous and characterized by a chronic relapsing-remitting course. Typicalgastrointestinal signs and symptoms include diarrhea, GI bleeding, weight loss, and abdominal pain.Moreover, the presence of pain often manifests in the remitting disease phase. As a result, patientsreport a further reduction in life quality. Despite the scientific advances implemented in the lasttwo decades and the therapies aimed at inducing or maintaining IBDs in a remissive condition, todate, their pathophysiology still remains unknown. In this scenario, the importance of identifying acommon and effective therapeutic target for both digestive symptoms and pain remains a priority.Recent clinical and preclinical studies have reported the prokineticin system (PKS) as an emergingtherapeutic target for IBDs. PKS alterations are likely to play a role in IBDs at multiple levels, suchas in intestinal motility, local inflammation, ulceration processes, localized abdominal and visceralpain, as well as central nervous system sensitization, leading to the development of chronic andwidespread pain. This narrative review summarized the evidence about the involvement of the PKSin IBD and discussed its potential as a druggable target.