Analog of somatostatin vapreotide exhibits biological effects in vitro via interaction with neurokinin-1 receptor.

Objectives: Vapreotide, a synthetic analog of somatostatin, has analgesic activity most likely mediated through the blockade of neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R), the substance P (SP)-preferring receptor. The ability of vapreotide to interfere with other biological effects of SP has yet to be investigated.

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.