Immunohistochemical examination of cholecystokinin and gastrin receptors (CCK-2/gastrin-R) expression in normal and exocrine cancerous human pancreatic tissues.

Objective: Evaluating tissue samples of normal and exocrine cancerous human pancreas on the expression of CCK2/gastrin receptor. We performed an immunohistochemical protocol that allows efficient detection of this receptor in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human tissues.

Methods: Twenty (20) paraffin blocks of pancreatic tissue sections were collected from the Departments of pathology, Central University Hospital of Sidi-bel-Abbes City (Western Algeria) for the period 2004-2013; ten (10) of them were normal pancreatic samples; and ten (10) cancerous pancreatic sections. The samples were studied using an immunohistochemical protocol for CCK-2/gastrin receptors.

Results: Our immunohistochemical analysis revealed that CCK-2/gastrin receptors were expressed in both normal and malignant pancreatic cells but with different immunoreactivity levels and different immunostaining intensity i.e., CCK-2/gastrin receptors were highly expressed within the cytoplasmic area of cancerous cells; 40% of the samples had an immunoreactivity (IR) of (+++) and 60% (++++); the immunostaining was as well very intense since we reported a dark brown staining of the malignant cells. However; in normal pancreatic tissues; CCK-2/gastrin receptors IR levels were very low; 80% of the samples had an IR of (+); and 20% had (++) and the immunostaining was less intense; we noted a light brown staining of few normal pancreatic cells.

Conclusion: The gastrointestinal peptides CCK could be very interesting targets for exocrine pancreatic cancer therapies; thus further surveys such as western blotting and RTPCR could indentify CCK-2/gastrin receptors as a helpful biomarker for exocrine pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment.