VIP

VIP in Canada is supplied by Horizon Peptides as a lyophilized powder in sealed 5 mg research vials, available singly or in 3-vial and 10-vial packs. VIP, or vasoactive intestinal peptide, is a 28-residue neuropeptide studied in receptor signalling research.

VIP is a naturally occurring 28-residue neuropeptide, first isolated from intestinal tissue, which is where the intestinal part of its name comes from. It is found well beyond the gut, including in nervous and immune tissue, so the name understates its distribution considerably.

It belongs to the secretin-glucagon peptide superfamily, a grouping that also includes growth hormone releasing hormone. That shared ancestry means sequences across the family carry recognisable structural similarities, and comparisons between them are a standard approach to mapping receptor selectivity.

Superfamily relationships of this kind are useful because they supply ready-made comparison compounds. Where an isolated sequence offers no natural reference point, a family member with known structural differences provides one, and the family here is unusually well populated.

Research using it concerns VPAC receptor signalling and immune-modulatory pathways in cell-culture models, where its broad tissue distribution makes the choice of model system particularly consequential.