Unlabeled Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide Research Articles

Vasoactive intestinal peptide inhibits insulin-stimulated glucose transport in rat adipocytes.

Patients with tumors secreting vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) often develop hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance. Although VIP has been reported to increase glucose output by the liver, the concentration required for this effect greatly exceeds that observed clinically. We therefore investigated the effects of VIP on insulin-stimulated glucose transport in isolated adipocytes. Inhibition of insulin action was observed at a concentration of 1 ng/ml VIP with half-maximal inhibition at approximately 20 ng/ml. 125I-VIP bound to specific high-affinity sites on the adipocytes. Fifty percent inhibition of binding occurred at a concentration of unlabeled VIP of approximately 10 ng/ml and was not affected by insulin, glucagon, or growth hormone. As we have observed previously with glucagon and catecholamines, inhibition of insulin action by VIP was observed only when accumulation of adenosine in the incubation medium was prevented by addition of adenosine deaminase. Under these conditions VIP markedly increased cellular cAMP levels. A good correlation was observed among VIP binding, inhibition of insulin-stimulated glucose transport, and cellular concentrations of cAMP. The results suggest that inhibition of insulin action in adipose tissue contributes to the hyperglycemic effect of VIP. Together, with our published findings on glucagon and catecholamines, these results support the hypothesis that counterregulatory hormones inhibit insulin action by increasing cellular concentrations of cAMP.

Functional receptors for vasoactive intestinal peptide in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells from rat aorta

Specific binding sites for vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a potent vasodilatory polypeptide, and its effect on formation of intracellular cyclic AMP levels were studied in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from rat aorta. Specific binding of 125I-labeled-VIP to cultured VSMCs was time- and temperature-dependent. Scatchard analysis of binding studies suggested the presence of two classes of high and low affinity binding sites for VIP; the apparent K d and the number of maximal binding capacity were ∼8×10 −9 M and 60,000 sites/cell (high-affinity sites) and ∼4×10 −8 M and 140,000 sites/cells (low-affinity sites), respectively. Unlabeled VIP competitively inhibited the binding of 125I-labeled-VIP to its binding sites, whereas neither peptides structurally related to VIP, nor other vasoactive substances affected the binding. VIP stimulated formation of intracellular cyclic AMP in cultured VSMCs in a dose-dependent manner; the stimulatory effect of VIP on cyclic AMP formation was not blocked by propranolol and was additive with isoproterenol. The present study first demonstrates the presence of specific receptors for VIP in VSMCs functionally coupled to adenylate cyclase system. It is suggested that VIP exerts its vasodilatory effect through its specific receptors distinct from β-adrenergic receptors.

Autoantibody to vasoactive intestinal peptide in human circulation

In a radioassay for Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP)-binding, eight out of 33 plasma samples from healthy human subjects exhibited specific binding ranging from 2.6% to 46.7% of total [ 125 I]VIP. This binding was competitively displaced by unlabeled VIP. The structurally homologous peptides, Peptide Histidine Isoleucine (PHI) and secretin, were, respectively, 72-fold and 413-fold less potent than VIP in displacing bound [ 125 I]VIP, whereas the unrelated peptides, neurotensin, eledoisin, bombesin and metenkephalin, were without effect on the binding. The antibody nature of the VIP-binding factor was suggested by its precipitation with ammonium sulfate, attenuation after absorption with Staphylococcus aureus preparations, precipitation with antisera against human IgG and IgM, and coelution with standard IgG and IgM on anion-exchange and high-performance gel-filtration columns. Pepsin treatment of purified IgG fraction yielded a VIP-binding species with apparent molecular weight of 108 ± 13 kDa that was precipitated by antiserum against the F(ab) 2 fragment of the IgG molecule. These results demonstrate the existence in some human plasmas of an autoantibody that binds VIP.

Uptake of vasoactive intestinal peptide by rat liver.

We have investigated the uptake and degradation of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) by rat livers. When liver was perfused with 125I-VIP, less than 20% of the radioactivity was recovered as intact peptide. 125I-VIp bound to specified high-affinity sites on isolated hepatocytes. Half-maximal inhibition of binding occurred at about 1 nM unlabeled VIP. Cell-bound 125I-VIP was degraded to low-molecular-weight products. The percent of 125I-VIP that was bound and degraded was approximately the same at both extremes of the range of VIP concentrations (25-250 pg/ml) reported in portal vein plasma. The lysosomotropic agent chloroquine inhibited 125I-VIP degradation and led to the accumulation of cell-bound 125I-VIP. We conclude that a) most of the VIP secreted from the gastrointestinal tract into portal blood is removed during its passage through the liver, b) VIP binds to specific high-affinity sites on hepatocytes and is probably internalized and degraded by lysosomes, and c) uptake of VIP by liver may serve to prevent the peptide from exerting deleterious systemic effects.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide: A potent stimulator of adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate accumulation in gut carcinoma cell lines in culture

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a potent and efficient stimulator of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation in a human colon carcinoma cell line, HT 29. cAMP accumulation is sensitive to a concentration of VIP as low as 3x10(-12) M. Maximum VIP-induced cAMP levels were observed with 10(-9) M VIP and are about 200 times above the basal levels. Half-maximum cAMP production was obtained at 3x10(-10) M VIP. (125)I-Labeled VIP was found to bind to HT 29 cells; this binding was competitively inhibited by concentrations of unlabeled VIP between 10(-10) and 10(-7) M. Half-maximum inhibition of binding was observed with 2x10(-9) M VIP. Secretin also stimulated cAMP accumulation in HT 29 cells, but its effectiveness was 1/1000 that of VIP. The other peptides tested at 10(-7) M, such as insulin, glucagon, bovine pancreatic polypeptide, somatostatin, octapeptide of cholecystokinin, neurotensin, and substance P, did not stimulate cAMP accumulation. Prostaglandin E(1) and catecholamines stimulated cAMP production but were 1/2.3 and 1/5.5 as efficient as VIP, respectively. Another malignant cell line from the gut, the human rectal tumor cell line HRT 18, is also sensitive to VIP. In HRT 18 cells, VIP stimulated cAMP accumulation with a maximal effect at 10(-8) M; half-maximum stimulation was observed at about 10(-9) M. These results demonstrate the presence of VIP receptors in two malignant human intestinal cell lines (HT 29 and HRT 18) in culture and provide a model for studying the action of VIP on cell proliferation.