Neurotensin in human small cell lung carcinoma.

High levels of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity were found in human small cell lung carcinoma lines. No immunoreactivity was present in non-small cell carcinoma lines and only low amounts in postmortem human lung tissue. The immunoreactive material co-eluted with synthetic neurotensin on two different chromatographic systems. No evidence was obtained for the presence of specific neurotensin binding sites in any of the small cell carcinoma lines examined. The results suggest that small lung cell carcinoma lines may be useful for studying the biosynthesis of human neurotensin.