Airway smooth muscle (ASM) cell proliferation contributes to increased airway resistance in bronchial asthma. We have examined the modulation of ASM proliferation by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a cotransmitter of airway relaxation. Human ASM cells were grown in culture as a monolayer. VIP (1.0 nM-1.0 microM) inhibited proliferation in a dose-dependent manner by up to 82% on day 2, but the related peptide glucagon had no effect. Histamine (100 nM-100 microM) increased cell counts by 66%, but in the presence of VIP, cell counts and [3H]thymidine incorporation were reduced by up to 55%. Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-promoting agents, including 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, forskolin, and 8-bromo-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate, alone and especially combined with VIP, reduced cell counts and [3H]thymidine incorporation, in correlation with cAMP levels. KT-5720 (1.0 nM-1.0 microM), a selective inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA), abolished the inhibitory effect of VIP. The results show that VIP selectively and potently inhibits human ASM cell growth and multiplication, and nullifies the mitogenic effect of histamine, by a PKA-mediated mechanism. A deficiency of VIP may lead to ASM hyperplasia due to unopposed stimulation by endogenous mitogens.

Small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is an aggressive, rapidly growing and metastasizing, and highly fatal neoplasm. We report that vasoactive intestinal peptide inhibits the proliferation of SCLC cells in culture and dramatically suppresses the growth of SCLC tumor-cell implants in athymic nude mice. In both cases, the inhibition was mediated apparently by a cAMP-dependent mechanism, because the inhibition was enhanced by the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin and the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine in proportion to increases in intracellular cAMP levels, and the inhibition was abolished by selective inhibition of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. If confirmed in clinical trials, this antiproliferative action of vasoactive intestinal peptide may offer a new and promising means of suppressing SCLC in human subjects, without the toxic side effects of chemotherapeutic agents.

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