PACAP(6-38) is a PACAP receptor antagonist for breast cancer cells

The effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) analogs were investigated using breast cancer cells. 125I-PACAP-27 bound with high affinity (Kd = 5 nM) to T47D cells (Bmax = 29,000 per cell). Specific 125I-PACAP-27 binding was inhibited half maximally by PACAP-27, PACAP-38, PACAP(6-38) and PACAP(28-38) with IC50) values of 8, 17, 750 and >3000 nM, respectively. By RT-PCR, PACAP receptor mRNA was present in MCF-7 and T47D cell lines. Polyclonal antibodies to a PACAP receptor fragment (A-8-C) were elicited. The antibodies were affinity purified, recognized a 60-kDa protein by western blot, and stained malignant cells in breast cancer biopsy specimens by immunohistochemistry. PACAP-27 elevated the cAMP in T47D cells and the increase in cAMP caused by PACAP was inhibited by PACAP(6-38). PACAP-27 stimulated c-fos mRNA in T47D cells and the increase in c-fos gene expression caused by PACAP was reversed by PACAP(6-38). PACAP(6-38) inhibited colony formation using a soft agar assay and inhibited breast cancer xenograft growth in nude mice. These data suggest that PACAP(6-38) functions as a breast cancer PACAP receptor antagonist.