Heterogeneous distribution of digestive enzymes in rat pancreas is highly influenced by diet

Coutu, JA; Adelson, JW

doi:10.1016/s0016-5085(98)83550-6

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The exocrine pancreas has historically been thought to be homogeneous in function, supported by the relatively uniform structural organization of acini throughout the organ alongside the capacity for a single cell type to produce all four digestive enzymes (i.e., trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase, and lipase) (13). This notion was, however, challenged in the 1980s-1990s by studies establishing that acinar cells or whole acini may differ in terms of their enzyme production and secretory response to immediate digestive requirements (14,15), potentially depending on innervation or gut hormones (16,17). Moreover, acinar cells differ in their response to certain secretagogues (18,19), which is particularly relevant to the exocrine-endocrine cell interactions occurring within the islet-acinar axis (20,21).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Analysis of Amylase Expression in Control, Autoantibody-Positive, and Type 1 Diabetes Pancreatic Tissues

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Within the human pancreas, exocrine and endocrine cells control secretion of digestive enzymes and production of hormones to maintain metabolic homeostasis, respectively. While the vast majority of type 1 diabetes research efforts have focused on endocrine function and autoimmunity, recent studies identified a series of unique features (e.g., reduced weight and volume, increased density of leukocytes) within the exocrine pancreas in this disease, but the mechanisms underlying these aberrancies are unknown. Therefore, we histologically assessed amylase, insulin, glucagon, lipase, and/or trypsinogen in 78 organ donor pancreata from birth through adulthood in control subjects and those at various stages of type 1 diabetes. While amylasepositive (AMY 1) acinar cells were detectable in pancreata from all study groups, tissues from individuals >2 years of age contained clusters of acinar cells devoid of amylase (AMY 2). A majority of these AMY 2 cell clusters localized proximal to islets (i.e., peri-islet). Additionally, most AMY 2 clusters were positive for the exocrine enzymes lipase and trypsinogen. Interestingly, type 1 diabetes pancreata displayed significant reductions in the frequency of these AMY 2 cell clusters. These results support a contribution of the islet-acinar axis in pancreatic development and underscore a potential role for the exocrine pancreas in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes.

show abstract