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Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide is Upregulated in Human IBS Patients

Changes in vasoactive intestinal peptide expression may play a role in symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome.

Summary:  Individuals who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) experience a complex collection of symptoms, and there is no standard therapy to treat the full spectrum of symptoms associated with this disorder. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) has been identified as a potential drug target for several chronic inflammatory diseases, so researchers sought to explore the role it may play in IBS. By measuring VIP levels in both human participants and an animal model, they found that VIP expression was upregulated in IBS patients compared to healthy control participants, as well as in rats with induced colitis compared to control rats. These findings suggest that alterations in VIP expression may play a role in IBS, and future work could lead to new therapeutic options that target VIP for management of IBS symptoms.

Citation:  Del Valle-Pinero AY, Sherwin LB, Anderson EM, Caudle RM, Henderson WA. Altered vasoactive intestinal peptides expression in irritable bowel syndrome patients and rats with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis. World J Gastroenterol. 2015 Jan 7;21(1):155-63. PMID: 25574088