Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and VIP receptors: gene expression and growth modulation in medulloblastoma and other central primitive neuroectodermal tumors of childhood

Int J Cancer. 1999 Apr 12;81(2):165-73. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19990412)81:2<165::aid-ijc1>3.0.co;2-0.

Abstract

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a neuromodulator and growth regulator in the developing nervous system. We analyzed 10 primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) cell lines, 29 central PNET (cPNET) and 17 tumors of the Ewing's sarcoma/peripheral PNET family (ESFT) using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Southern hybridization. Each of the 10 cell lines and 86.2% of cPNET expressed mRNA for VIP receptor 1 (VIPR1) compared to 52.9% of ESFT. VIPR2 was expressed in 75.8% of cPNET, in 28.6% of ESFT and in all 10 cell lines. cPNET demonstrated high-affinity binding of 125I-VIP on quantitative autoradiography and in competitive binding assays. VIP inhibited tumor cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in 5 of 7 PNET cell lines. We conclude that VIPR1 and VIPR2 are highly expressed in cPNET and demonstrate that VIP is a growth modulator in these tumors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Autoradiography
  • Blotting, Southern
  • Cell Division / physiology
  • Child
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / physiology*
  • Growth Substances / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Medulloblastoma / metabolism*
  • Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive, Peripheral / metabolism*
  • Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / genetics*
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / genetics*

Substances

  • Growth Substances
  • Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide
  • Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide