2؉ ] i in the absence of G17. These data demonstrate that the activation state of the MEK1,2/ERK1,2 pathway can modulate the amplitude of the CCK 2 R-mediated Ca 2؉ release response and identify a novel mechanism for cross-talk between EGF receptor-and CCK 2 Rregulated signaling pathways.The gastrointestinal peptide hormone gastrin-(1-17) (G17) 1 plays an essential role in the regulation of digestion by stimulating gastric acid secretion, histamine synthesis and release, and proliferation of the gastric epithelium and endocrine pancreas (1, 2). In cancers of the stomach, pancreas, and colon, G17 promotes tumor cell proliferation, motility, and invasion (3-5). The biological effects of G17 are mediated by the cholecystokinin-2 (CCK 2 )/G17 receptor (CCK 2 R) (previously named CCK-B receptor), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. Three splice variants of the CCK 2 R have been identified (6 -8) that bind the structurally related peptides cholecystokinin (CCK) and G17 with high affinities. An early event following agonist activation of CCK 2 R is the phospholipase C-mediated elaboration of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (6) from membrane phospholipids and the subsequent release of calcium (Ca 2ϩ ) from inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate-sensitive intracellular Ca 2ϩ stores.Calcium is an essential intracellular signal involved in many biological processes including fertilization, secretion, contraction, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis (9, 10). Small differences in the amplitude, duration, and/or temporal pattern of change in [Ca 2ϩ ] i can have profound effects on cell physiology, altering programs of gene expression (11, 12), secretory activity (13), cell proliferation, and survival (14 -16). Calcium is an essential signaling molecule in G17-stimulated cell proliferation. In Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing recombinant CCK 2 R, an agonist-induced increase in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity and [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation into DNA requires a slow oscillatory increase in [Ca 2ϩ ] i (17). In the rat pancreatic cancer cell line AR4-2J, a CCK 2 Rmediated increase in [Ca 2ϩ ] i is required for formation of the Shc-Grb2-Sos protein complex and subsequent activation of MAPK (18). Defining the molecular mechanisms involved in CCK 2 R regulation of [Ca 2ϩ ] i is necessary to understand the proliferative effects of G17 on normal and neoplastic cells.Like G17, epidermal growth factor (EGF) also stimulates the proliferation of gastric epithelial cells (19,20), and recently, the G17-related peptide CCK has been shown to synergize with EGF to stimulate DNA synthesis ([ 3 H]thymidine incorporation), cyclin-D3 expression, and retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation in cells expressing both CCK 2 R and EGF receptors (21). EGF and the related growth factors transforming growth factor-␣ and amphiregulin bind to a family of receptors known as type I receptor tyrosine kinases. This family is composed of four related receptors: the EGF receptor (EGFR/ErbB1/HER1), ErbB2 (HER2/neu), ErbB3 ...