Blocking gastrin and CCK-B autocrine loop affects cell proliferation and apoptosis in vitro.

Gastrin and cholecystokinin-B receptor (CCK-B) were co-expressed in human gastric carcinoma tissues, suggesting that a functional autocrine loop, the gastrin and CCK-B receptor loop, may be presented in gastric cancer cells and play an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of gastric carcinomas. The present study was aimed at studying the effects of blocking the gastrin and CCK-B receptor loop on cell proliferation and apoptosis in gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 cells (SGC-7901 cells). First, the expression of gastrin and CCK-B receptor mRNAs and gastrin protein in SGC-7901 cells were measured by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry, respectively.