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Axonal transport of vasoactive intestinal peptide in sciatic nerve

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Abstract

Dense plexuses of neurones containing immunoreactive vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) have been found in discrete areas of the central nervous system and in peripheral organs, including the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas and urogenital system1–7. In many of these locations VIP is concentrated in nerve endings, where it can be released by high K+ concentrations in a Ca2+-dependent manner8,9. VIP release may also be provoked by electrical stimulation of nerves, for example the vagus10. VIP thus shows some of the features of neurotransmitter or neuromodulator substances. The presence of immunoreactive VIP in the fine terminal varicosities as well as in the cell bodies of neurones4,11 suggests that it might be transported from the perikaryon, where it is presumably formed, to the nerve endings, through the axonal transport system12–14. Such transport would be in keeping with a role for the peptide as a neurohumor or neurohormone15. We report here that VIP accumulates in constricted rat sciatic nerves in a manner suggesting fast, anterograde axonal flow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Pharmacology and Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas

    Antonio Giachetti & Sami I. Said

  2. Veterans Administration Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, 75235

    Antonio Giachetti & Sami I. Said

Authors
  1. Antonio Giachetti
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  2. Sami I. Said
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Giachetti, A., Said, S. Axonal transport of vasoactive intestinal peptide in sciatic nerve. Nature 281, 574–575 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/281574a0

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