The existence of bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide-like immunoreactivity (BN-GRP-LI) in rat sensory ganglia and spinal cord was confirmed using immunocytochemistry, gel filtration chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography combined with radioimmunoassay. Immunohistochemical studies showed that in the spinal sensory ganglia of the rat about 5% of the neurons exhibited BN-GRP-LI,...

Four different isoforms of phospholipase C-beta (PLC-beta 1-4) have been discovered, raising the important question of whether a distinct receptor activates a single PLC-beta isoenzyme or a subset of PLC-beta isoenzymes. The present study was designed to investigate activation of PLC-beta isoenzymes by three different PLC-activating agonists that bind to different receptor entities, i.e., chole...

The results presented here demonstrate that bradykinin, acting through a B2 subtype receptor, induces a unique pattern of early signals in quiescent Swiss 3T3 cells. Bradykinin caused a rapid mobilization of calcium from internal stores, as judged by measurements of intracellular Ca2+ concentration in fura-2-loaded cells and by 45Ca2+ efflux from radiolabeled cells. Analysis of phosphoproteins ...

Neuroendocrine secretory products and their interactions with epithelial prostate cells are currently under investigation in order to understand their significance in the pathogenesis, prognosis, and therapy of prostate carcinoma. These neuropeptides have the potential to disrupt the balance between cell death and cell growth in the tumor. Our research was based on the role of bombesin in modul...

Studies demonstrate that some colon cancers possess receptors for various gastrointestinal hormones or neurotransmitters, the occupation of which can affect growth. These results are limited because frequently only a small number of tumors are studied, only 1 or 2 receptors are sought, and the effect on cell function is not investigated. In the present study, 10 recently characterized human col...

We investigated the effects of somatostatin analogues and a synthetic bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) antagonist on the growth of the human malignant glioma cell lines U-87MG and U-373MG transplanted to nude mice or cultured in vitro. Nude mice bearing s.c. implanted U-87MG or U-373MG tumors were treated for 4 and 6 weeks, respectively, with various somatostatin analogues or bombesin/G...