Ceruletide is the international nonproprietary name of caerulein, a decapeptide originally isolated from the skin of the Australian frog Hyla caerulea more than 30 years ago (2). Although caerulein does not exist in mammals, including humans, it closely resembles cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) in the C-terminal amino acid sequence (Fig. 1) and possesses a virtually identical spectrum of bi...

Antibodies produced in chickens (egg yolk Antibody-IgY) and rabbits against CCK-8 TyrSE (a C-terminal extended CCK-version) were compared with respect to their specificity against several modified CCK-sequences by means of radioimmunoassay and spot blot assay. The content of neuronal CCK was determined by using both an "avian" and a "mammalian" RIA. The IC50 values obtained indicate differences...

We have investigated the pathway and the mechanism by which cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8), given systemically, may influence the discharge of brain stem neurons that have an input from the stomach. Extracellular recordings were made from neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), where vagal afferents terminate, and from neighboring regions of the dorsal medial medulla. Gastric d...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether cholecystokinin-octapeptide (CCK-OP) would prevent or ameliorate parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis (PNAC) among high-risk neonates treated with total parenteral nutrition. STUDY DESIGN This was a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial conducted between 1996 and 2001. PATIENTS Neonates at risk for the development of PNAC included very...

Using a library of radioimmunoassays against essential sequences of human progastrin and procholecystokinin, we have examined the occurrence of gastrin, cholecystokinin, and their precursors in bronchogenic adenocarcinomas, large-cell, small-cell, and squamous-cell carcinomas (n = 17). Progastrin and some of its bioactive (i.e., alpha-carboxyamidated) products were present in all tumors, irresp...