Pleiotropic immunomodulatory effects of cortistatin in experimental models of inflammatory and degenerative disease: a scoping review

The guiding question for this scope review is: “What is the role of cortistatin in experimental disease models in terms of its pathophysiology and therapeutic potential?” The question was formulated using the PCC (Population, Concept, Context) structure: Population: animal models of disease; Concept: cortistatin (endogenous or administered exogenously); Context: preclinical studies in different experimental disease models. A systematic search was performed in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from their creation until March 2026. The search strategy combined descriptors related to CST and experimental disease models using Boolean operators: ("cortistatin" OR "CST") AND ("inflammation" OR "autoimmune" OR "fibrosis" OR "neurodegeneration" OR "disease model" OR "animal model")