Vasoactive intestinal peptide facts for kids
Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a special kind of hormone found in your body. It's like a tiny messenger that helps different parts of your body talk to each other. VIP is made up of 28 small building blocks called amino acids.
You can find VIP in many places, including your gut (your stomach and intestines), your pancreas (an organ that helps with digestion), and a small part of your brain called the hypothalamus. In humans, the instructions for making VIP are stored in a special code called the VIP gene.
Once VIP is released into your blood, it works very quickly. It usually stays in your blood for about two minutes before it's gone.
Contents
What VIP Does
VIP has many important jobs in your body. It helps control how your gut works and how your blood flows.
Digestion and Muscles
VIP helps your digestive system in a few ways:
- It makes your intestines release more fluids, which helps with digestion.
- It helps relax the muscles in your gut and other areas. These muscles are called "smooth muscles" and they work without you thinking about them, like moving food through your intestines.
- It's released from nerve cells found in the lining of your gut and in the smooth muscles themselves. This shows how closely it's involved in controlling these actions.
Blood Flow
VIP is also known for making blood vessels wider. This means more blood can flow through them. This is why it's called "vasoactive" – "vaso" means blood vessel, and "active" means it has an effect.
When VIP Levels Change
Sometimes, the body might make too much VIP. This can happen in a rare condition called a VIPoma. A VIPoma is a type of tumor that produces a lot of VIP, which can cause health problems.
Images for kids
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The suprachiasmatic nucleus, where VIP is found, is shown in green.
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This image shows different parts of the hypothalamus in the brain.
See also
In Spanish: Péptido vasoactivo intestinal para niños
