Effects of neuropeptides on human lung and breast cancer cells

We evaluated the effect of seven classes of neuropeptides [bradykinin, cholecystokinin 26-33 (CCK), neurotensin, arginine-8 vasopressin (AVP), tyr-4 bombesin (BN), somatostatin, and motilin] on 18 human lung cancer and four human breast cancer cell lines to determine the pattern of responses. Flow cytometric analysis of Indo-1 AM-loaded cells was used to quantitate the intracellular calcium response of individual cells produced by these peptides alone or in simultaneous or sequential combinations. All 18 lung cancer cell lines responded to one or more peptide classes with classic small cell lines displaying the greatest responsiveness, followed by variant small-cell lines and non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines. Breast cancer cell lines demonstrated little or no response to any peptide. There was great variability in the magnitude of response and pattern of response in individual cell lines and between cell lines. Bradykinin was the most potent peptide and produced responses in the largest number of lung cancer cell lines. Simultaneous administration of active peptides produced greater intracellular calcium release than single peptides, though in a less than additive manner. Response to each peptide was followed by a refractory period lasting several hours or more. The refractoriness was peptide-specific, implying that each peptide has a distinct pathway, at least at the receptor level. Bradykinin antagonists could abrogate the calcium response to bradykinin but not to other peptides. Similarly, specific peptide antagonists for CCK, BN, and AVP blocked the response for only their specific agonist.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)