VIP — vasoactive intestinal peptide — is a 28-amino-acid neuropeptide found throughout the nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems. As its name suggests, it relaxes blood vessels and airways, and it plays broad roles in inflammation and circadian rhythm.
What you’re reading about
In clinical research, synthetic VIP is known as aviptadil — the same peptide, developed as an investigational drug. Much of the human trial evidence for VIP is filed under that name.
Mechanism
VIP binds VPAC receptors to relax smooth muscle (vasodilation and bronchodilation), modulate immune signaling, and protect certain cells under stress — a wide reach that has drawn interest across pulmonary and inflammatory research.
Research applications
- Pulmonary and respiratory research.
- Inflammation and immune modulation.
- Vascular and neuroendocrine signaling.
Clinical outlook
VIP reached prominent human research as aviptadil, studied in Phase 2/3 trials for critical respiratory failure — most visibly in severe COVID-19 (NCT04311697, NCT06729606). That work put a decades-old neuropeptide back at the center of pulmonary research and continues to shape how VIP signaling might be applied clinically.
References
- The Use of IV Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (Aviptadil) in Patients With Critical COVID-19 Respiratory Failure: Results of a 60-Day Randomized Controlled Trial
- Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide in Checkpoint Inhibitor-Induced Pneumonitis
- Inhalation of vasoactive intestinal peptide in pulmonary hypertension
- Investigation of vasoactive intestinal peptide expression and significance in a congenital diaphragmatic hernia animal model
- Brief Report: Rapid Clinical Recovery From Critical Coronavirus Disease 2019 With Respiratory Failure in a Pregnant Patient Treated With IV Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide
