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Alteration of membrane fusion as a cause of acute pancreatitis in the rat

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Abstract

Infusion of supramaximal doses of cerulein induces acute edematous pancreatitis in the rat. Cannulation of the main pancreatic duct does not prevent the formation of the edema but reveals an almost complete reduction of pancreatic flow. Using freeze-fracture techniques and thin-section electron microscopy, earliest structural alterations were observed at membranes of zymogen granules and the plasma membrane. Fusion of zymogen granules among each other leads to formation of large membrane-bound vacuoles within the cytoplasm. These and individual zymogen granules fuse with the basolateral plasma membrane, discharging their content into the interstitial space. The findings indicate severe changes in the specificity of the intracellular membrane fusion process induced by supramaximal doses of a pancreatic secretagogue, which finally result in autodigestion of the pancreas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medizinische Klinik and Institut für Anatomie und Zellbiologie, Philipps-Universität, Robert-Koch-Str. 6, D-3550, Marburg/Lahn, Federal Republic of Germany

    Guido Adler MD, Gerhard Rohr MD, PhD &  Horst F. Kern MD

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  1. Guido Adler MD
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  2. Gerhard Rohr MD, PhD
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  3. Horst F. Kern MD
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Additional information

Some of this material was presented during a workshop on Frontiers in Pancreatic Physiology, sponsored by National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Diseases (NIAMDD) and by Center for Ulcer Research (CURE) in Reston, Virginia, on November 18–20, 1979, and in abstract form during a symposium on Basic Mechanism of Cellular Secretion sponsored by National Institutes of Health in Annapolis, Maryland, on September 17–21, 1979.

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Adler, G., Rohr, G. & Kern, H.F. Alteration of membrane fusion as a cause of acute pancreatitis in the rat. Digest Dis Sci 27, 993–1002 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01391745

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01391745

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