VIP

Research Phase

Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide

Aliases
Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide, Aviptadil
Administration
Intravenous infusion (studied), Subcutaneous injection (research)

How it works

  1. Binds VPAC1 and VPAC2 receptors found throughout the gut, lungs, brain, and immune cells, triggering broad anti-inflammatory and smooth-muscle-relaxing signaling.

    VIP is a natural signaling molecule your body already makes to help calm inflammation and relax smooth muscle, especially in the gut and lungs.

  2. In the lungs specifically, VIP receptor activation has been studied for reducing inflammatory cytokine activity and protecting against acute respiratory tissue damage.

    Because it touches so many systems at once, synthetic versions have been studied for a wide range of conditions — from severe lung inflammation to gut disorders — rather than one narrow use.

Result

As a naturally occurring, wide-acting anti-inflammatory signal, VIP's synthetic forms have shown potential for calming severe inflammation across several organ systems — though its very short natural half-life and investigational status mean it remains primarily a research and clinical-trial compound rather than a broadly available one.