The early and chronic effects of 17 beta-estradiol on vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) gene expression in rats were examined. Total RNA of four VIP-producing tissues were subjected to Northern blot analysis 15 and 30 min, and 1, 3, 6, and 24 h after a single injection of 17 beta-estradiol (100 micrograms/kg ip). Pituitary, hypothalamus, brain, and ileum VIP messenger RNA (mRNA) levels rose in a time-dependent manner after estrogen treatment. In the pituitary, the increase was maximal at 30-60 min, whereas in the hypothalamus, the increase reached significance only at 3 h but then persisted until at least 24 h. In the brain, a transient increase in VIP mRNA was observed at 30 min, whereas VIP mRNA levels in the ileum responded in a biphasic pattern; the initial early increase was followed by a second elevation occurring at 6 h. A smaller 1-kilobase VIP-related transcript particularly abundant in the pituitary was regulated in parallel with the 1.7-kilobase mature VIP mRNA species. Continuous estrogen stimulation for 7 weeks dramatically increased both mRNA species in the pituitary but did not affect VIP mRNA levels in the other tissues. These data suggest that the regulation of VIP gene expression by transient increases in estrogen levels is rapid and that the pattern of induction is tissue specific.