Human Lung Small-Cell Carcinoma Contains Bombesin

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 79; no. 7; pp. 2379 - 2383
• Main Authors: Erisman, Michael D., Linnoila, R. Ilona, Hernandez, Oscar, DiAugustine, Richard P., Lazarus, Lawrence H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 01.04.1982; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Adrenocortical carcinoma; Animals; Antiserum; Bombesin - analysis; Carcinoma, Small Cell - analysis; Cellular immunity; Chromatography, Gel; Fetus; Histocytochemistry; Hormones; Humans; Immunologic Techniques; Lung Neoplasms - analysis; Lungs; Male; Mice; Mice, Nude; Middle Aged; Peptide hormones; Peptides - analysis; Radioimmunoassay; Secretion; Small cell lung carcinoma; Tumors
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.79.7.2379

The presence of immunoreactive bombesin in a human lung small-cell carcinoma grown in nude mice was established by several criteria: (i) Radioimmunoassay of tissue extracts for bombesin revealed approximately 6.5 pmol/g of tissue; (ii) bombesin was found in 12-14% of the tumor cells by immunohistochemical localization; (iii) gel filtration of small-cell carcinoma extract on Sephadex G-75 and Bio-Gel P-4 gave only a single peak of immunoreactivity, which occurred at the elution volume of bombesin; and (iv) reverse-phase HPLC of acid-solubilized extracts separated the immunoreactive material into three discrete peaks, one of which eluted with a retention time identical to that of synthetic bombesin. The presence of bombesin may represent the ectopic expression of this peptide in small-cell carcinoma, because immunoreactive bombesin was found in human fetal and neonatal lung but apparently not in adult lung tissue [Wharton, J., Polak, J. M., Bloom, S. R., Ghatei, M. A., Solcia, E., Brown, M. R. & Pearse, A. G. E. (1978) Nature (London) 273, 769-770]. The immunoreactive bombesin previously found in mammalian tissues is considerably larger than amphibian bombesin; these data substantiate the presence of a mammalian form of bombesin in a human tumor that may have a structure similar to that of the amphibian peptide.