Gastrin (G17) belongs to the
cholecystokinin (CCK)
peptide family widely distributed in the brain, and we were the first to show that it significantly modulates the growth and migration features of
tumor astyrocytes. Conflictual data have been published as to whether CCKA, CCKB and CCKC receptors are, or are not, present in
tumors of the central and peripheral nervous system (CPNS) in general, and in
gliomas in particular. In the present study we employed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on a series of 29 CNPS
tumors, including 20
gliomas (17 astrocytic and 3 oligodendroglial
tumors), 4
schwannomas and 5
meningiomas to investigate whether RNAs were present or absent in the case of these CCKA, CCKB and CCKC receptors. The presence of the three
CCK receptor subtypes was also assayed on three experimental models, i.e. the U373 human
glioma, the C6 rat
glioma and the 9L rat
gliosarcoma. The data show that 9/20 (45%) of the
gliomas exhibited RNAs for the CCKB receptor as did the C6 rat
glioma, 13/20 (65%) RNAs for the CCKC receptor as did the U373 human
glioma and the 9L rat
gliosarcoma. Of the 20
gliomas, 17 (85%) expressed RNAs for either the CCKB or the CCKC receptor (or both), a feature which was also observed in the experimental models. One
schwannoma and one
meningioma exhibited RNAs for the CCKB receptor, while 4/4
schwannomas and 4/5
meningiomas showed RNAs for the CCKC receptor. None of the
gliomas,
schwannomas or
meningiomas exhibited RNAs for the CCKA receptor, which were found in the 9L rat
gliosarcoma model only. These data emphasize that 85% of the
gliomas under study and 86% (25/29) of the
tumors of the central and peripheral nervous system exhibited CCKB and/or CCKC receptors. This therefore suggests an important role for
gastrin in the biological development of these
tumors.