Expression of the second calcitonin/calcitonin gene-related peptide gene in Ewing sarcoma cell lines

The existence of two closely related calcitonin (CT)/CT gene-related peptide (CGRP) genes has been recognized in rat and man. In man, expression of the CALC-I gene produces CT and/or CGRP-I mRNA, whereas CGRP-II mRNA is transcribed from the CALC-II gene. Until recently, expression of the CALC-II gene had been detected only in a metastasis of medullary thyroid carcinoma. In this study, expression of the CALC-II gene was demonstrated by Northern blot hybridization analysis in four of six cell lines established from different Ewing sarcomas, a malignant neoplasm of bone. Expression of the CALC-I gene was not detected in any of the six cell lines. A presumed large mol wt immunoreactive precursor of CGRP-II and small amounts of mature CGRP-II, but no CT, were found in medium from IARC/EW 1 cells. Nucleotide sequence analysis of cloned cDNA from this cell line confirmed the production of CGRP-II mRNA. CALC-II gene expression in Ewing sarcoma might be useful for studies concerning regulation of gene expression in the CALC gene family and possibly for tumor classification.