Vasoactive intestinal peptide regulates mitosis, differentiation and survival of cultured sympathetic neuroblasts.

摘要: ALTHOUGH acute, millisecond-to-millisecond actions of neurotransinitters are well documented, diverse longer-term effects have been discovered only recently1–5. Emerging evidence indicates that these signals regulate a variety neuronal processes, from phenotypic expression to neurite outgrowth6–19. Here we show single putative transmitter, vasoactive intestinal peptide, can exert multiple, long-term simultaneously: it stimulates mitosis, promotes outgrowth and enhances survival sympathetic neuron precursors in culture. As the peptide seems be normal presynaptic transmitter system19–25, synaptic transmission may hitherto unexpected effects.