The vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), two immunomodulatory neuropeptides, act as anti-inflammatory factors for activated microglia, by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory factors, mainly mediated through the inhibition of NF-kappaB nuclear translocation and DNA binding. An additional regulatory element in the NF-kappaB transcriptional activity is the coactivator CBP, which links p65 with components of the basal transcriptional machinery. The present report demonstrates that VIP and PACAP inhibit the formation of p65/CBP complexes and that this event is directly related to the neuropeptide inhibition of NF-kappaB transcriptional activity. Since CBP is in limiting amounts in the nucleus and is capable of interacting with several transcriptional factors, competition for. CBP provides another mechanism for transcriptional regulation. VIP and PACAP increase CBP-binding to CREB, replacing p65/CBP with CREB/CBP complexes in activated microglia. This is due to VIP/PACAP-induced increases in CREB phosphorylation/activation and is mediated through the specific VPAC1 receptor and the cAMP/PKA pathway. The VIP/PACAP interference with the p65/CBP interaction in activated microglia may represent a significant element in the regulation of the inflammatory response in the CNS by the endogenous neuropeptides. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.