Experimental studies as an inspiration for clinical investigation

This study represents an attempt of showing own author's example of using basic research data as an inspiration for the clinical studies. The project evaluates the role of gastrin in colorectal carcinogenesis as well as the differences of its action in proximal and distal colon. Colonocytes were isolated from Fischer-344 rats and incubated for 2 minutes with gastrin (10(-8)M). This treatment resulted with 60-70% rise in tyrosine kinase (Tyr-k) and 150-200% - in phospholipase C activity as regards to basal levels. In vivo infusion of gastrin for 5 days to Fischer-344 rats resulted with 90-150% increase in distal but not proximal colonic mucosal proliferative activity as well as tyrosine phosphorylation of several colonic mucosal proteins. In clinical study, the mean fasting gastrin level in the control group was significantly lower (p<0.01) than in patients with colorectal cancer before surgery. Mean plasma gastrin level in patients with distal tumor yielded 105,31 +/- 12,5 microU/l and was significantly higher than in patients with the proximal tumor site (42, 2 +/- 3,1 microU/l) (p<0,001). We conclude, that Tyr-k is involved in the mechanism of the trophic action of gastrin, particularly in distal colon. The differences in gastrin concentration in patients with distal and proximal tumors may probably contribute to the distinct pathogenesis and biological properties of those cancers.