VIP 10mg

Overview

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a 28-amino-acid neuropeptide first isolated from porcine small intestine by Said and Mutt in 1970. It belongs to the secretin/glucagon superfamily and is broadly distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems, the gut and immune tissues. VIP is the endogenous ligand for the VPAC1 and VPAC2 receptors and also binds the PAC1 receptor with lower affinity.

Acu Aminos supplies VIP as a 10 mg lyophilized powder for laboratory receptor and neuro-immune research.

Chemistry & specifications

VIP is a basic, C-terminally amidated peptide that is largely disordered in water and adopts an α-helical conformation from roughly residue 7 onward when bound to its receptor or in membrane-mimetic environments. The N-terminal His-Ser-Asp region is critical for receptor activation, and the single methionine residue (Met17) is susceptible to oxidation, which is why the lyophilized material should be protected from air.

Cellular structure & mechanism of action

VPAC1 and VPAC2 are class B GPCRs coupled primarily to Gα_s, and VIP binding raises intracellular cAMP with downstream activation of PKA and CREB. In smooth-muscle preparations this pathway underlies the peptide’s classical relaxant activity. In immune-cell models, VIP signaling has been reported to shift macrophage and dendritic-cell cytokine output toward an anti-inflammatory profile, to influence T-helper differentiation and to induce regulatory T-cell phenotypes, which has made it a reference neuropeptide for neuro-immune interaction research. VIP also acts as a neurotransmitter in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, where VPAC2 signaling synchronizes circadian oscillators in tissue-slice models.

Research applications

• VPAC1/VPAC2/PAC1 receptor binding and cAMP assays
• Macrophage, dendritic-cell and T-cell cytokine studies
• Smooth-muscle relaxation and organ-bath pharmacology
• Circadian-rhythm and SCN neuron models
• Secretin-family peptide structure-activity research

Selected references

1. Said SI, Mutt V. Polypeptide with broad biological activity: isolation from small intestine. Science. 1970;169:1217–1218.
2. Harmar AJ, Fahrenkrug J, Gozes I, et al. Pharmacology and functions of receptors for vasoactive intestinal peptide and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide: IUPHAR review 1. Br J Pharmacol. 2012;166(1):4–17.
3. Delgado M, Ganea D. Vasoactive intestinal peptide: a neuropeptide with pleiotropic immune functions. Amino Acids. 2013;45(1):25–39.

References are provided to help researchers locate primary literature. Acu Aminos makes no claims about the safety or efficacy of any compound in humans or animals.