Estimation of cholecystokinin-pancreozymin (CCK) in human plasma and tissue by a specific radioimmunoassay and the immunohistochemical identification of pancreozymin-producing cells in the duodenum of humans.

A reliable, sensitive, reproducible and specific radioimmunoassay for cholecystokinin-pancreozymin (CCK) has been developed, using rabbit antisera to highly purified porcine hormone. The natural occurring variant of CCK (39-CCK), in which the ordinary CCK is lengthened from its N-terminus by a hexapeptide, labelled with 125J, and repurified by column chromatography on Sephadex G-10 and on SP-Sephadex C-25, was used as tracer. Separation from antibody-bound labelled 39-CCK was carried out using a double antibody procedure. Non-specific interference with the assay system was abolished by ethanol extractions. Highly purified porcine CCK was used as standard. No significant crossreaction was found with gastrin, motilin, vasoactive polypeptide (VIP), gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), natural and synthetic secretin, pancreatic glucagon or insulin. The sensitivity of the assay is approximately 40 pg/ml of test solution. The mean immunoreactive CCK concentration in 45 fasting normal subjects was 222 pg/ml increasing after food ingestion to 480 pg/ml. Somatostatin was able to abolish the stimulated CCK release. Elevated CCK concentrations were found in chronic pancreatitis. Immunohistochemical identification of pancreozymin cells was carried out either in surgical samples or in biopsy material. Approximately 1650 CCK cells per cross-section in the duodenum of humans have been found. The CCK cells usually appeared elongated, oval or pyramidal in shape and were observed to reach the lumen with their apical cell pole.