Gastrin-releasing peptide immunoreactivity in intestinal carcinoids.
Human neuroendocrine tumors are known to demonstrate immunoreactivity to the amphibian peptide bombesin. The recent observation that gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), a 27 amino acid peptide first isolated from porcine intestine, may be the mammalian analog of bombesin led us to look for this peptide in intestinal carcinoid tumors. Formalin-fixed tissues from 20 of these tumors were examined by the immunoperoxidase technic, using specific antisera to the GRP molecule (1-27) and the GRP fragment (1-16). Intense diffuse cytoplasmic immunoreactivity was observed in carcinoids from the small intestine (7/10), appendix (4/5), and colon (1/5). In each positive case, the pattern of staining for GRP (1-16) and GRP (1-27) was identical. These findings indicate that bombesin-like immunoreactivity in human intestinal carcinoid tumors is attributable to GRP-like molecules and that GRP is a useful marker for neuroendocrine differentiation.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002276:Carcinoid Tumor / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D019886:Gastrin-Releasing Peptide; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D007120:Immunochemistry; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology*
D010455:Peptides; D019886:Gastrin-Releasing Peptide