Conclusions
Our findings indicate that vapreotide has NK1R antagonist activity and may have a potential application as a therapeutic intervention in HIV-1 infection.
Methods
We studied the ability of vapreotide to antagonize NK1R in three different cell types: immortalized U373MG human astrocytoma cells, human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) and a human embryonic kidney cell line, HEK293. Both U373MG and MDM express endogenous NK1R while HEK293 cells, which normally do not express NK1R, are stably transformed to express human NK1R (HEK293-NK1R).
Results
Vapreotide attenuates SP-triggered intracellular calcium increases and nuclear factor-κB activation in a dose-dependent manner. Vapreotide also inhibits SP-induced interleukin-8 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 production in HEK293-NK1R and U373MG cell lines. Vapreotide inhibits HIV-1 infection of human MDM in vitro, an effect that is reversible by SP pretreatment. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that vapreotide has NK1R antagonist activity and may have a potential application as a therapeutic intervention in HIV-1 infection.