Gozes I, Shani Y
Endocrinology. 1986 Dec;119(6):2497-501. doi: 10.1210/endo-119-6-2497.
Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) has been proposed as an inducer of PRL release. Moreover, immunocytochemical studies suggested an increase in the VIP content in the hypothalamus of lactating rats. We investigated whether this increase is regulated at the level of gene transcription. A sensitive RNA detection assay that uses in vitro transcribed RNA probes corresponding to specific exons of the VIP gene was devised to study VIP gene expression. Using this method, an approximately 2000-base long RNA containing the coding sequences for VIP was detected in rat hypothalamus. This RNA also contains the coding sequences for the VIP-related peptide PHM/I (peptide histidine methionine amide or isoleucine amide). An identical VIP-encoding RNA was previously identified in the rat cerebral cortex. A 2-fold increase was observed in hypothalamic VIP mRNA during lactation. In addition, the levels of this mRNA increased in the hypothalamus at the time of sexual maturation. Taken together, our results suggest a physiological regulation of VIP gene expression associated with its potential role as a neuroendocrine hormone.
血管活性肠肽（VIP）被认为是催乳素释放的诱导剂。此外，免疫细胞化学研究表明，哺乳期大鼠下丘脑的VIP含量增加。我们研究了这种增加是否在基因转录水平受到调控。设计了一种灵敏的RNA检测方法，该方法使用与VIP基因特定外显子对应的体外转录RNA探针来研究VIP基因表达。使用这种方法，在大鼠下丘脑中检测到一种约2000个碱基长的RNA，其包含VIP的编码序列。这种RNA还包含与VIP相关的肽PHM/I（肽组氨酸甲硫氨酸酰胺或异亮氨酸酰胺）的编码序列。先前在大鼠大脑皮层中鉴定出了相同的VIP编码RNA。哺乳期下丘脑VIP mRNA水平增加了2倍。此外，在性成熟时，下丘脑这种mRNA的水平也增加。综上所述，我们的结果表明，VIP基因表达存在生理调控，这与其作为神经内分泌激素的潜在作用相关。
