Potential clinical applications of vasoactive intestinal peptide: a selected update

Neuropeptides are expressed in neurons innervating endocrine cells or in endocrine cells and cancer cells, and are released on site to act as hormones and growth factors. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) was first discovered in the early 1970s and has since become the area of research for many laboratories. VIP has a neuroendocrine role as it is intimately involved with the synthesis, secretion and action of other neuroendocrine hormones as well as cytokines and chemokines. Major outcomes of VIP downregulation encompass developmental and behavioral dysfunctions, including impaired diurnal rhythms. Overexpression of VIP has been associated with diarrhea and cancer, and overexpression of VIP receptors is associated with cancerous growth. This short review outlines some of the recent progress made in VIP research.