Morphological and functional correlates of VIP neurons in cerebral cortex

Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide (VIP) promotes the hydrolysis of 3H-glycogen newly synthesized from 3H-glucose by mouse cortical slices. This effect occurs rapidly, approximately 50% of the maximal effect being reached within one minute. The maximal effect is achieved after 5 minutes and maintained for at least 25 minutes. Furthermore the glycogenolytic effect of VIP is reversible, and pharmacologically specific. Thus several neuropeptides present in cerebral cortex such as cholecystokinin-8, somatostatin-28, somatostatin-14, met-enkephalin, leu-enkephalin, do not affect 3H-glycogen levels. VIP fragments 6-28, 16-28 and 21-28 are similarly inactive. Furthermore, among the peptides which share structural homologies with VIP, such as glucagon, secretin, PHI-27 and Gastric Inhibitory Peptide, only secretin and PHI-27 promote 3H-glycogen hydrolysis, with EC50 of 500 and 300 nM respectively, compared to an EC50 of 25 nM for VIP. Immunohistochemical observations indicate that each VIP-containing bipolar cell is identified with a unique radical cortical volume, which is generally between 15-60 micrograms in diameter and overlaps with the contiguous domains of neighbouring VIP-containing bipolar cells. Thus this set of biochemical and morphological observations support the notion that VIP neurons have the capacity to regulate the availability of energy substrates in cerebral cortex locally, within circumscribed, contiguous, radial domains.