THE INTEGRITY OF THE CHOLECYSTOKININ RECEPTOR GENE IN GALLBLADDER-DISEASE AND OBESITY

Cholesterol gallstone disease and obesity are common and often associa ted disorders that could be affected by dysfunction of the receptor fo r cholecystokinin (CCK), Extending earlier studies that identified a d efect at the level of receptor-G protein coupling in cholesterol galls tone disease, we characterized the primary structure of the gallbladde r CCK receptor in patients undergoing a cholecystectomy, Represented w ere patients with cholesterol gallstones, as well as controls with pig ment gallstones or without gallbladder disease. Both groups were compo sed of the range of body habitus from lean to morbidly obese, No evide nce of any sequence mutation or polymorphism in the CCK receptor gene was found in any patient. This should lead future investigations of th e pathogenesis of these problems toward the possible contribution of t he plasmalemmal environment in affecting the association between norma l receptors and G proteins.