The role of VIP in pulmonary hypertension and application for the gene therapy

肺动脉高压(PH)是危重疾病。已有研究表明，神经肽VIP、PACAP参与了肺循环和呼吸系统的调节，但其功能尚未完全阐明。肺组织中VIP、PACAP含量降低，其受体VPAC1、VPAC2、PAC1表达增加。从心脏组织中也得到了类似的结果。为了验证多肽替代可能改善PH值的假设，我们构建了编码VIP或PACAP的质粒载体。我们一直在研究更有效的输送方法及其在PH中的效果。

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is critical disease. It has been reported that neuropeptides VIP, PACAP involve in pulmonary circulation and respiratory system, however, their functions are not fully elucidated. The contents of VIP and PACAP in the lung decreased in experimental PH, while the expression of their receptors VPAC1, VPAC2 and PAC1 increased. Similar results were obtained from cardiac tissue. To verify the hypothesis that replacement of the peptides may improve PH, we constructed plasmid vector encoding VIP or PACAP. We have been investigating the more efficient method to deliver the plasmid and the effect in PH.