Stimulation of gastrin-CCKB receptor promotes migration of gastric AGS cells via multiple paracrine pathways

Responses to G protein-coupled receptor stimulation may be mediated by paracrine factors. We have developed a coculture system to study paracrine regulation of migration of gastric epithelial (AGS) cells after stimulation of gastrin-CCKB receptors. In cells expressing this receptor, G-17 stimulated migration by activation of protein kinase C. However, G-17 also stimulated the migration of cells expressing green fluorescent protein, but not the receptor, when they were co-cultured with receptor-expressing cells consistent with activation of paracrine signals. The use of various pharmacological inhibitors indicated that gastrin stimulated migration via activation of the EGF receptor (EGR-R), the erbB-2 receptor tyrosine kinase, and the MAP kinase pathway. However, gastrin also released fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-1, and migration was inhibited by the FGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor SU-5402. Flow cytometry indicated that in both cell types, gastrin increased MAP kinase via activation of EGF-R but not FGF-R1 or erbB-2. We conclude that gastrin-CCKB receptors stimulate epithelial cell migration partly via paracrine mechanisms; transactivation of EGF-R is only one component of the paracrine pathway.