Vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor expression on human lymphoblasts

This study was designed to determine which (if any) subtypes of leukemic blasts express a functional receptor for vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Blasts harvested from bone marrow of 38 newly diagnosed patients were classified as acute lymphocytic leukemia (CALLA + pre-B-cell leukemia, CALLA-, pre-B-cell leukemia, T-cell leukemia) or acute myeloid leukemia based on cytochemical and histochemical markers. Of the 32 patients with lymphocytic leukemia, 22 expressed the VIP receptor as evidenced by VIP-mediated activation of adenylate cyclase in cell homogenates. Binding of 125I-VIP to ALL cells correlated with the ability of VIP to activate adenylate cyclase. The VIP receptor was not identified in myeloid blasts from any of six patients. Further correlation of 125I-VIP binding and VIP-mediated stimulation of adenylate cyclase was demonstrated in transformed cell lines: a pre-B-cell line (Nalm 6) and a T-cell line (Molt 4b) exhibited high-affinity binding of 125I-VIP and VIP-mediated activation of adenylate cyclase, whereas neither the histiocytic line (U937) nor the myelocytic line (HL60) appeared to express the VIP receptor. These observations suggest a role for VIP in the proliferation or differentiation of human T and B lymphocytes.