Low serum gastrin associated with ER(+) breast cancer development via inactivation of CCKBR/ERK/P65 signaling

BACKGROUND: Gastrin is an important gastrointestinal hormone produced primarily by G-cells in the antrum of the stomach. It normally regulates gastric acid secretion and is implicated in a number of human disease states, but how its function affects breast cancer (BC) development is not documented. The current study investigated the suppressive effects of gastrin on BC and its underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Serum levels of gastrin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and correlation between gastrin level and development of BC was analyzed by chi-square test. Inhibitory effects of gastrin on BC were investigated by CCK-8 assay and nude mice models. Expressions of CCKBR/ERK/P65 in BC patients were determined through immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot. Survival analysis was performed using the log-rank test. RESULTS: The results indicated that the serum level of gastrin in BC patients was lower compared with normal control. Cellular and molecular experiments indicated that reduction of gastrin is associated with inactivation of cholecystokinin B receptor (CCKBR)/ERK/P65 signaling in BC cells which is corresponding to molecular type of estrogen receptor (ER) positive BC. Furthermore, we found that low expression of gastrin/CCKBR/ERK /P65 was correlated to worse prognosis in BC patients. Gastrin or ERK/P65 activators inhibited ER(+) BC through CCKBR-mediated activation of ERK/P65. Moreover, combination treatment with gastrin and tamoxifen more efficiently inhibited ER(+) BC than tamoxifen alone. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that low serum gastrin is related to increased risk of ER(+) BC development. The results also established that CCKBR/ERK/P65 signaling function is generally tumor suppressive in ER(+) BC, indicating therapies should focus on restoring, not inhibiting, CCKBR/ERK/P65 pathway activity. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-018-4717-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.