Neurotensin (NT) is a gut peptide that plays an important role in gastrointestinal (GI) secretion, motility, and growth as well as the proliferation of NT receptor positive cancers. Secretion of NT is regulated by phorbol ester-sensitive protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms-␣ and -␦ and may involve protein kinase D (PKD). The purpose of our present study was: (i) to define the role of PKD in NT release from BON endocrine cells and (ii) to delineate the upstream signaling mechanisms mediating this effect. Here, we demonstrate that small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeted against PKD dramatically inhibited both basal and PMA-stimulated NT secretion; NT release is significantly increased by overexpression of PKD. PKC-␣ and -␦ siRNA attenuated PKD activity, whereas overexpression of PKC-␣ and -␦ enhanced PKD activity. Rho kinase (ROK) siRNA significantly inhibited NT secretion, whereas overexpression of ROK␣ effectively increased NT release. Rho protein inhibitor C3 dramatically inhibited both NT secretion and PKD activity. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that PKD activation plays a central role in NT peptide secretion; upstream regulators of PKD include PKC-␣ and -␦ and Rho/ROK. Importantly, our results identify novel signaling pathways, which culminate in gut peptide release.Regulatory hormones, localized to specialized endocrine cells in the small bowel, control numerous physiological functions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract including secretion, motility, and mucosal growth (1). The gut peptide neurotensin (NT), 1 a tridecapeptide localized to enteroendocrine cells (N cells) of the distal small bowel (2, 3), facilitates fatty acid translocation (4), affects gut motility (5), and stimulates growth of normal gut mucosa (6, 7). In addition to its trophic effects on normal GI tissues, NT stimulates proliferation of certain pancreatic, colonic, and prostatic cancers bearing NT receptors (NTR) (8). Although the mechanisms for pancreatic hormone release have been well characterized (9), the signal transduction pathways regulating stimuli-induced gut hormone secretion are not entirely understood. One reason for this paucity in our understanding is the relative lack of useful in vitro models that recapitulate in vivo properties of intestinal endocrine cells.The BON endocrine cell line was established from a human pancreatic carcinoid tumor and characterized in our laboratory (10). These cells have served as an invaluable in vitro model for hormone secretion studies. Similar to the terminally differentiated N cell of the small bowel, BON cells express high levels of NT/neuromedin N mRNA, synthesize and secrete NT peptide, and process the NT/neuromedin N precursor protein in a fashion identical to that of the normal intestine (11). BON cells exhibit morphological and biochemical characteristics consistent with the enteroendocrine cell phenotype, including the presence of numerous dense core granules and the expression and secretion of chromogranin A and other peptides (e.g. pancreastatin) (10, 12, 13). Thus, the BON cel...