Vasoactive intestinal peptide enhances the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Abstract

Some researches have found that the development of tumor could be encouraged by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), but how about the mode of VIP? The aim of this study is to examine the effects of VIP on expression of VEGF mRNA in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Expression of VEGF mRNA was detected in NSCLC and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. VEGF mRNA was detected in NSCLC cell lines A549, GLC-82, H157, H460 and SCLC cell line H446. VIP could enhance the expression level of VEGF mRNA in NSCLC cell lines A549 and H157. The expression level of VEGF mRNA reached a peak at 8h and 16h after VIP administration, which was significantly higher than that at 0h (P < 0.01). VIP may promote the angiogenesis of lung cancer through increasing the expression and secretion of VEGF in lung cancer cells, and thus plays an important role in the pathogenesis of lung cancer.