vasoactive-intestinal-peptide and Medulloblastoma

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.

Topics: Autoradiography; Blotting, Southern; Cell Division; Child; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Growth Substances; Humans; Male; Medulloblastoma; Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive, Peripheral; Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide