No abstract

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a major neurotransmitter of peripheral nerves, has been suggested to function in host defense by regulating local human immune function. Indirect evidence has been marshaled that VIP can function as a switch factor for IgA in human Ig isotype recombination. In this study we directly tested the ability of VIP to function as a factor driving human B cells into IgA producing cells by assessing its ability to induce switch circular DNA representing direct to ␣ switching. In addition we determined the generation of